2010
#158,432
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Capdevielle
A habitational surname originating from a location in Gascony, France.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Capdevielle. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Capdevielle 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
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Capdevielle in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Capdevielle, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (32.7%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Capdevielle
The surname Capdevielle originates from the Basque region of southwestern France and northern Spain. It likely emerged sometime in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. The name is derived from the Basque words "kapdi," meaning hill or summit, and "bielle," meaning old or ancient. Thus, Capdevielle means "ancient hill" or "old summit."
Capdevielle is a locational surname, indicating that the original bearers of the name hailed from a specific place called Capdevielle. This place name likely referred to a settlement situated on or near an ancient hill or high ground. Similar spellings found in historical records include Capdeville, Capdevilla, and Cabdeville.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Capdevielle surname appears in the 1395 census records of the village of Sauveterre-de-Béarn in the former province of Béarn, now part of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department of France. The name is also mentioned in the 1472 tax rolls of the nearby town of Orthez.
Prominent individuals with the Capdevielle surname throughout history include Étienne Capdevielle (1508-1570), a French Protestant theologian and writer who was involved in the Reformation movement in southwestern France. Another notable figure was Jean-Baptiste Capdevielle (1753-1820), a French military officer who served in the Revolutionary Wars and later became a general under Napoleon.
In the 18th century, Dominique Capdevielle (1725-1792) was a French explorer and navigator who participated in several expeditions to the Pacific Ocean and helped map the coastlines of California and Alaska. Léon Capdevielle (1867-1942) was a French artist and painter known for his landscape and portrait works in the Impressionist style.
Additionally, José Capdevielle (1892-1986) was a renowned Uruguayan poet, essayist, and literary critic who played a significant role in the modernist movement in Latin American literature. He was recognized with numerous awards and honors for his contributions to Hispanic letters.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Capdevielle
Among Census respondents with the surname Capdevielle, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (32.7%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Capdevielle 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 Capdevielle surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.4% · 68
- Hispanic or Latino32.7% · 34
- Two or more races1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Capdevielle
Capdevielle appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
+2 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 4,842 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #158,432 | 102 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | +2 bearers (+2.0%) | Up 4,842 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 Capdevielle 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 | #158,432 | #153,590 | 3.1% |
| Count | 102 | 104 | 2.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 16.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Capdevielle bearers went from 102 to 104 (+2.0% change). The surname moved up 4,842 positions in the national ranking, going from #158,432 to #153,590.
FAQ
Capdevielle surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Capdevielle?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Capdevielle. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Capdevielle?
Capdevielle ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 104 people with the surname Capdevielle. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Capdevielle.
Has Capdevielle become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Capdevielle went from 102 recorded bearers to 104. That is an increase of 2 (+2.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #158,432 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Capdevielle?
Among Census respondents with the surname Capdevielle, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (32.7%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Capdevielle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.4% (68 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Capdevielle appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (65.4%), Hispanic (32.7%), Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Capdevielle (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 Capdevielle mean?
A habitational surname originating from a location in Gascony, France. 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 Capdevielle (0.03 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 share the surname Capdevielle?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.