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

Caravan, 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 Caravan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Caravan in America

Caravan is the 156044th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Caravan surname appeared 104 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 Caravan.

The history of the last name Caravan

The surname CARAVAN is believed to have originated in the Middle East, likely from the Persian word 'karvan' meaning a group of travelers or merchants. This word eventually made its way into various European languages, including English, where it became 'caravan'.

In the 12th century, during the time of the Crusades, many European soldiers and travelers encountered caravans in the Middle East. It's possible that some adopted the term as a surname, either as a description of their occupation or as a reference to their experiences.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname CARAVAN can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire, England, from the year 1195, where a certain 'Robert Caravan' is mentioned. This suggests that the name was already in use in England by the late 12th century.

In France, the name CARAVAN appears in records as early as the 13th century. A notable bearer of the name was Jean Caravan (1285-1345), a merchant from Lyon who is recorded in the city's archives.

During the Renaissance period, the CARAVAN surname spread across Europe. In Italy, there was a family of artists and architects from Bergamo known as the Caravans or Caravans, including Giovanni Battista Caravan (1589-1669), a renowned painter.

In Spain, the name CARAVAN is sometimes spelled 'Caravan', as in the case of Rodrigo Caravan (1502-1568), a Spanish explorer and navigator who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expedition to Mexico.

In the 17th century, the CARAVAN surname made its way to the Americas with European settlers. One of the earliest recorded instances is that of William Caravan (1620-1685), an English colonist who settled in Virginia.

Other notable bearers of the CARAVAN surname include:

• Maurice Caravan (1765-1823), a French general during the Napoleonic Wars.
• John Caravan (1801-1878), an Irish-American politician and judge in New York.
• Anna Caravan (1859-1932), a Russian writer and activist.
• Robert Caravan (1903-1986), an American artist and illustrator.
• Julio Caravan (1928-2018), a Mexican actor and filmmaker.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Caravan

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

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 Caravan 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.

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!