2000
#20,397
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,211
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.45
Rare Last name
Calix
A Latin surname referring to a chalice or cup, likely derived from an ancestor's occupation or characteristic.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,217 Americans carry the last name Calix. That puts it at #10,846 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.94 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 106,545 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Calix 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
3.2K
1 in 106,545
Census rank
#10,846
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,805 bearers of the surname Calix in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.94 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10846th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Calix, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 89.4%. The next largest groups are White (4.6%) and Black (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Calix
The surname CALIX is derived from the Latin word 'calix', meaning 'cup' or 'chalice'. Its origins can be traced back to medieval times in Italy, specifically the regions of Tuscany and Umbria. The name likely originated as a nickname for someone associated with the production or use of chalices or cups in religious or secular contexts.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname CALIX appears in a 14th-century document from the Tuscan city of Siena, where a certain Guido Calix is mentioned as a member of a prominent merchant family. This suggests that the name had already established itself in the region by that time.
During the Renaissance period, the name CALIX gained further prominence in Italy. In the 16th century, a notable bearer of this surname was the Umbrian artist Pietro Calix (c. 1480-1545), known for his frescoes and altarpieces adorning various churches in Perugia and surrounding areas.
As the Italian diaspora spread across Europe and beyond, the surname CALIX traveled with them. In the 17th century, records show a Jacobus Calix residing in the Netherlands, indicating the name had taken root in other parts of the continent.
Another early mention of the CALIX surname can be found in the baptismal records of St. Mary's Church in Bury St. Edmunds, England, where a William Calix was baptized in 1632. This suggests that the name had also found its way to the British Isles by that time.
In the 18th century, a prominent figure bearing the CALIX surname was the French philosopher and encyclopedist Jean-André Calix (1713-1792), who contributed numerous articles to the famous Encyclopédie edited by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert.
Moving into the 19th century, the name CALIX continued to spread globally. Notable bearers included the Italian composer Giuseppe Calix (1810-1879), whose operas were performed in major theaters across Europe, and the Spanish explorer and cartographer Juan Calix (1822-1892), who mapped parts of the Amazon rainforest.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Calix
Among Census respondents with the surname Calix, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 89.4%. The next largest groups are White (4.6%) and Black (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Calix 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 Calix surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino89.4% · 2,508
- White4.6% · 130
- Black or African American4.0% · 111
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 26
- Two or more races0.9% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Calix
Calix 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
#14,076
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,137
+926 bearers (+76.5%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Up 6,321 places
2020
#10,846
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,805
+668 bearers (+31.3%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Up 3,230 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #20,397 | 1,211 | 0.45 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,076 | 2,137 | 0.72 | +926 bearers (+76.5%) | Up 6,321 places |
| 2020 | #10,846 | 2,805 | 0.94 | +668 bearers (+31.3%) | Up 3,230 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 Calix 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 | #14,076 | #10,846 | 22.9% |
| Count | 2,137 | 2,805 | 31.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.72 | 0.94 | 30.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Calix bearers went from 2,137 to 2,805 (+31.3% change). The surname moved up 3,230 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,076 to #10,846.
FAQ
Calix surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Calix?
Name Census estimates that about 3,217 living Americans carry the surname Calix. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 106,545 residents.
How common is Calix?
Calix ranks #10,846 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.94 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 2,805 people with the surname Calix. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,217), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.94 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.94 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 Calix.
Has Calix become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Calix went from 2,137 recorded bearers to 2,805. That is an increase of 668 (+31.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,076 to #10,846.
What does the Census say about the background of Calix?
Among Census respondents with the surname Calix, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 89.4%. The next largest groups are White (4.6%) and Black (4.0%). 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 Calix in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.4% (2,508 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Calix appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (89.4%), White (4.6%), Black (4.0%). 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 Calix (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 Calix mean?
A Latin surname referring to a chalice or cup, likely derived from an ancestor's occupation or characteristic. 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 Calix (0.94 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 are called Calix?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Calix at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.