2000
#132
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 168,817
First available Census row
Per 100,000 62.58
Common Last name
Alvarez
A patronymic surname of Spanish origin meaning "son of Álvaro," a given name derived from the Old Germanic name Alfher.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 263,112 Americans carry the last name Alvarez. That puts it at #95 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 76.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,303 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Alvarez surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Alvarez with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
263K
1 in 1,303
Census rank
#95
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
76.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
229K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 229,446 bearers of the surname Alvarez in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 76.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 95th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Alvarez, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.7%. The next largest groups are White (5.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Alvarez
The surname Alvarez has its roots in Spain, originating from the medieval Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. It is a patronymic surname, derived from the personal name Álvaro, which itself comes from the Germanic name Alvar, meaning "elf warrior" or "elf counsel."
Alvarez first appeared in historical records in the 9th century, when the name was written as "Alvárez" or "Álvarez." It was prevalent in the regions of Galicia, Asturias, and León, where it was borne by members of the nobility and landed gentry.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the "Cartulario de Celanova," a 10th-century manuscript from the Monastery of Celanova in Galicia. This document mentions an individual named "Alvaro Vermudez," whose name would later evolve into the modern form of Alvarez.
During the Reconquista, the period when Christian kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula fought to reclaim territory from the Moors, several notable figures bore the name Alvarez. One such individual was Pedro Álvarez de Toledo, a 14th-century military commander who played a crucial role in the conquest of Granada.
In the 15th century, the name Alvarez gained prominence through the exploits of Alonso de Ojeda and Juan de la Cosa, two navigators and explorers who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his voyages to the New World. Ojeda, in particular, was instrumental in the exploration and settlement of the Caribbean and the northern coast of South America.
As the Spanish Empire expanded, the name Alvarez spread to the Americas and other regions of the world. Notable individuals with this surname include José Álvarez de Toledo, a 16th-century Spanish colonial administrator who served as the Governor of the Philippines, and Diego de Alvarez Chanca, a physician and writer who accompanied Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas and documented the first recorded cases of syphilis in Europe.
In the realm of arts and literature, the name Alvarez is associated with figures such as José María Heredia y Heredia (1803-1839), a Cuban poet and writer who was part of the Romantic movement, and Gustavo Adolfo Álvarez Gardeazábal (1945-1999), a Colombian writer and journalist known for his works on human rights and social issues.
Other notable individuals with the surname Alvarez include Walter Alvarez (1940-2018), an American geologist who co-developed the theory that an asteroid impact caused the mass extinction of dinosaurs, and Álvaro Álvarez Guedes (1940-2012), a Spanish politician and lawyer who served as the Minister of the Interior during the Spanish transition to democracy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alvarez
Among Census respondents with the surname Alvarez, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.7%. The next largest groups are White (5.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Alvarez bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Alvarez surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino91.7% · 210,443
- White5.4% · 12,459
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 3,237
- Black or African American0.7% · 1,623
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 887
- Two or more races0.3% · 797
Timeline
Historical Census data for Alvarez
Alvarez appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#92
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 233,983
+65,166 bearers (+38.6%)
Per 100,000 79.32
Rank movement Up 40 places
2020
#95
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 229,446
-4,537 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 76.76
Rank movement Down 3 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #132 | 168,817 | 62.58 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #92 | 233,983 | 79.32 | +65,166 bearers (+38.6%) | Up 40 places |
| 2020 | #95 | 229,446 | 76.76 | -4,537 bearers (-1.9%) | Down 3 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Alvarez surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #92 | #95 | -3.3% |
| Count | 233,983 | 229,446 | -1.9% |
| Per 100K | 79.32 | 76.76 | -3.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Alvarez bearers went from 233,983 to 229,446 (-1.9% change). The surname moved down 3 positions in the national ranking, going from #92 to #95.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Alvarez
FAQ
Alvarez surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Alvarez?
Name Census estimates that about 263,112 living Americans carry the surname Alvarez. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,303 residents.
How common is Alvarez?
Alvarez ranks #95 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 76.76 per 100,000 residents, which is about 77 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 229,446 people with the surname Alvarez. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (263,112), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 76.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 76.76 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 77 of them to have the surname Alvarez.
Has Alvarez become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Alvarez went from 233,983 recorded bearers to 229,446. That is a decrease of 4,537 (-1.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #92 to #95.
What does the Census say about the background of Alvarez?
Among Census respondents with the surname Alvarez, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.7%. The next largest groups are White (5.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Alvarez in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (210,443 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Alvarez appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (91.7%), White (5.4%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Alvarez (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Alvarez mean?
A patronymic surname of Spanish origin meaning "son of Álvaro," a given name derived from the Old Germanic name Alfher. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Alvarez (76.76 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Alvarez?
Want to know how common the surname Alvarez is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.