Find out how popular the last name Alvear is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Alvear.

Alvear, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Alvear surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Alvear in America

Alvear is the 16214th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Alvear surname appeared 1,781 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Alvear.

We can also compare 2010 data for Alvear to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Alvear

The surname Alvear originates from Spain, dating back to the 8th century during the Moorish occupation of the Iberian Peninsula. It is derived from the Arabic word "al-bi'r," meaning "the well" or "the cistern," suggesting that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a well or water source.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in medieval Spanish documents and manuscripts, often associated with individuals from the regions of Andalusia and Murcia. One notable example is the 13th-century manuscript "Cantigas de Santa Maria," which mentions an individual named Alvear.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Alvear name gained prominence as members of this family participated in the Spanish conquest of the Americas. Hernando de Alvear, born in 1488, was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico.

Another noteworthy figure was Diego de Alvear y Ponce de León, born in 1625, who served as a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator in South America. He played a crucial role in the defense of Buenos Aires against Portuguese invasions in the late 17th century.

In the 18th century, Rafael de Alvear, born in 1750, was a Spanish naval officer and cartographer who contributed significantly to the mapping of the Pacific coast of North America and the exploration of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

The Alvear surname also has a strong connection to Argentina, where it was brought by Spanish colonists and settlers. One of the most prominent figures was Carlos María de Alvear, born in 1789, a military leader and statesman who played a pivotal role in the Argentine War of Independence against Spain.

Throughout history, the Alvear name has been associated with various place names and older spellings, such as Alvear de Tormes, a municipality in Salamanca, Spain, and Alvear, a city in the Santa Fe Province of Argentina, named after Carlos María de Alvear.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Alvear

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Alvear.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Alvear was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Alvear has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Alvear was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Alvear, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!