2000
#17,040
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,537
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.57
Rare Last name
Bejar
A Spanish habitational surname referring to someone from any of the various places named Béjar.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,400 Americans carry the last name Bejar. That puts it at #13,826 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.70 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 142,814 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bejar 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
2.4K
1 in 142,814
Census rank
#13,826
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,093 bearers of the surname Bejar in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.70 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13826th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bejar, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 89.2%. The next largest groups are White (6.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bejar
The surname Bejar is of Spanish origin, deriving from the town of Bejar in the province of Salamanca, Spain. The name is believed to have originated in the 8th or 9th century, during the Moorish occupation of the Iberian Peninsula.
Bejar is thought to come from the Arabic word "bajar," meaning "plain" or "meadow," which likely described the geographic location of the town. Records from the 12th century refer to the town as "Baxar" or "Vaxar," indicating the name's evolution over time.
One of the earliest known references to the surname Bejar can be found in the Libro de las Behetrías, a medieval Spanish manuscript dating back to the 14th century. This document recorded the names of landowners and their properties across various regions of Spain.
In the 15th century, during the reign of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, a nobleman named Pedro de Bejar is mentioned in historical records as having played a significant role in the Spanish Reconquista, the campaign to drive the Moors out of the Iberian Peninsula.
Another notable figure bearing the Bejar surname was Diego de Bejar, a 16th-century Spanish explorer and conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico. He is believed to have been born in the town of Bejar around 1495.
The surname Bejar also has connections to the Spanish monarchy. In the 17th century, a member of the Bejar family, María de Bejar y Ibáñez de Segovia, was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Mariana of Spain, the wife of King Philip IV.
In the 19th century, a prominent figure named Manuel Bejar was a Mexican businessman and landowner who played a significant role in the development of the city of San Antonio, Texas. He was born in Spain in 1789 and later settled in Mexico before ultimately moving to Texas.
As the surname Bejar spread throughout Spain and its colonies, variations in spelling emerged, such as Béjar, Béxar, and Bexar. Some of these variations can be traced back to place names, like the town of Béjar in Salamanca or the city of Bexar (now San Antonio) in Texas, which was originally established by Spanish settlers from the Canary Islands.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bejar
Among Census respondents with the surname Bejar, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 89.2%. The next largest groups are White (6.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Bejar 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 Bejar surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino89.2% · 1,866
- White6.5% · 137
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.8% · 80
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
- Two or more races0.2% · 4
- Black or African American0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bejar
Bejar 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
#13,622
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,224
+687 bearers (+44.7%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Up 3,418 places
2020
#13,826
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,093
-131 bearers (-5.9%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Down 204 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #17,040 | 1,537 | 0.57 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,622 | 2,224 | 0.75 | +687 bearers (+44.7%) | Up 3,418 places |
| 2020 | #13,826 | 2,093 | 0.70 | -131 bearers (-5.9%) | Down 204 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 Bejar 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 | #13,622 | #13,826 | -1.5% |
| Count | 2,224 | 2,093 | -5.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.75 | 0.70 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bejar bearers went from 2,224 to 2,093 (-5.9% change). The surname moved down 204 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,622 to #13,826.
FAQ
Bejar surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bejar?
Name Census estimates that about 2,400 living Americans carry the surname Bejar. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 142,814 residents.
How common is Bejar?
Bejar ranks #13,826 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.70 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,093 people with the surname Bejar. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,400), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.70 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Bejar.
Has Bejar become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bejar went from 2,224 recorded bearers to 2,093. That is a decrease of 131 (-5.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,622 to #13,826.
What does the Census say about the background of Bejar?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bejar, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 89.2%. The next largest groups are White (6.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.8%). 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 Bejar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.2% (1,866 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bejar appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (89.2%), White (6.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.8%). 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 Bejar (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 Bejar mean?
A Spanish habitational surname referring to someone from any of the various places named Béjar. 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 Bejar (0.70 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 share the surname Bejar?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.