2000
#6,946
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,451
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.65
Rare Last name
Arvizu
A Basque habitational surname referring to someone from a place called Arbizu in Navarre, Spain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,969 Americans carry the last name Arvizu. That puts it at #5,529 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 49,183 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Arvizu 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.
Bearers in the US
7.0K
1 in 49,183
Census rank
#5,529
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,077 bearers of the surname Arvizu in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5529th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Arvizu, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.6%. The next largest groups are White (5.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Arvizu
The surname Arvizu is of Spanish origin, originating from the region of Navarre in northern Spain. It is believed to have emerged in the 12th or 13th century, during the period of the Reconquista, when Christian kingdoms were retaking territory from the Moors.
Arvizu is thought to be derived from the Basque words "arbi" meaning "valley" and "itzu" meaning "stream" or "river." This suggests that the name may have been associated with a particular valley or settlement near a river or stream in the region of Navarre.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Arvizu name can be found in a land registry from the town of Tudela, Navarre, dated 1286. This document mentions a certain "Petrus de Arvizu" as a landowner in the area.
In the 15th century, historical records indicate that a noble family bearing the name Arvizu held lands and titles in the region of Navarre. One notable member of this family was Juan de Arvizu, who served as a military commander during the reign of King Ferdinand II of Aragon in the late 15th century.
As the Spanish Empire expanded its reach in the Americas, the Arvizu name began to appear in colonial records. In 1575, a soldier named Diego de Arvizu was listed among the members of an expedition to the Río de la Plata region of South America.
Another influential figure with the Arvizu surname was Fray Juan de Arvizu, a Franciscan friar who served as a missionary in New Mexico in the early 17th century. He is credited with establishing several missions and converting many Native Americans to Catholicism.
In the 19th century, a notable bearer of the Arvizu name was José María Arvizu, a Mexican politician and lawyer who served as a deputy in the Mexican Congress and played a role in the Reform War of the 1850s.
Other individuals of historical significance with the Arvizu surname include Manuel Arvizu, a Spanish military officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century, and Josefa Arvizu, a renowned 18th-century artist from New Spain (present-day Mexico) known for her religious paintings and portraits.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arvizu
Among Census respondents with the surname Arvizu, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.6%. The next largest groups are White (5.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Arvizu 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 Arvizu surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino92.6% · 5,626
- White5.8% · 355
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 33
- Two or more races0.5% · 29
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 25
- Black or African American0.1% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Arvizu
Arvizu 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
#5,664
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,130
+1,679 bearers (+37.7%)
Per 100,000 2.08
Rank movement Up 1,282 places
2020
#5,529
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,077
-53 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 2.03
Rank movement Up 135 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,946 | 4,451 | 1.65 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,664 | 6,130 | 2.08 | +1,679 bearers (+37.7%) | Up 1,282 places |
| 2020 | #5,529 | 6,077 | 2.03 | -53 bearers (-0.9%) | Up 135 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 Arvizu 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 | #5,664 | #5,529 | 2.4% |
| Count | 6,130 | 6,077 | -0.9% |
| Per 100K | 2.08 | 2.03 | -2.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Arvizu bearers went from 6,130 to 6,077 (-0.9% change). The surname moved up 135 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,664 to #5,529.
FAQ
Arvizu surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Arvizu?
Name Census estimates that about 6,969 living Americans carry the surname Arvizu. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 49,183 residents.
How common is Arvizu?
Arvizu ranks #5,529 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,077 people with the surname Arvizu. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,969), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Arvizu.
Has Arvizu become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Arvizu went from 6,130 recorded bearers to 6,077. That is a decrease of 53 (-0.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #5,664 to #5,529.
What does the Census say about the background of Arvizu?
Among Census respondents with the surname Arvizu, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.6%. The next largest groups are White (5.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.5%). 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 Arvizu in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (5,626 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Arvizu appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (92.6%), White (5.8%), American Indian/Alaska Native (0.5%). 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 Arvizu (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 Arvizu mean?
A Basque habitational surname referring to someone from a place called Arbizu in Navarre, Spain. 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 Arvizu (2.03 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 many people have the last name Arvizu?
If you just want to know how many people are called Arvizu, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.