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

Alvez, 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 Alvez surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Alvez in America

Alvez is the 47878th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Alvez surname appeared 442 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Alvez.

We can also compare 2010 data for Alvez 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 Alvez

The surname Alvez is believed to have originated in Portugal during the Middle Ages. It is thought to be derived from the ancient Portuguese word "alvo," meaning "white" or "fair." This suggests that the name may have initially been given as a descriptive nickname or to distinguish an individual with particularly light skin or hair.

The earliest known records of the Alvez surname date back to the 13th century in medieval Portuguese documents and manuscripts. One notable early bearer of the name was João Alvez, a knight who served under King Afonso III of Portugal in the mid-1200s. He was recorded as participating in the conquest of the Algarve region from the Moors.

In the 15th century, the Alvez name appeared in the Livro das Lezírias, a land registry of properties owned by the Portuguese monarchy. This indicates that members of the Alvez family held land and had achieved a certain level of prominence by this time.

The surname Alvez has also been associated with various place names throughout Portugal, such as Alvez da Feira and Alvez de Gondomar, which may have contributed to the spread and adoption of the name in those areas.

One of the most famous historical figures with the Alvez surname was Pedro Alvez Cabral (c. 1467-1520), a Portuguese navigator and explorer. He is best known for being the first European to discover Brazil in 1500, during his voyage to India on behalf of the Portuguese crown.

Other notable individuals with the Alvez surname include:

1. Gaspar Alvez de Lousada Machado (1601-1652), a Portuguese nobleman and military commander.
2. José Alvez de Faria (1751-1811), a Portuguese mathematician and philosopher.
3. Francisco Alvez Mirandela (1829-1892), a Brazilian poet and journalist.
4. Emilia Alvez Bastos (1844-1918), a Portuguese educator and feminist activist.
5. Cesário Alvez (1876-1965), a Portuguese writer and journalist.

The Alvez surname continues to be most prevalent in Portugal and Brazil, reflecting the countries' historical ties and the migration of Portuguese settlers to the former colony.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Alvez

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

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 Alvez 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 Alvez 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 Alvez was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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