2000
#1,014
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 31,566
First available Census row
Per 100,000 11.70
Uncommon Last name
Carver
An occupational surname referring to a wood carver or sculptor.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 35,136 Americans carry the last name Carver. That puts it at #1,124 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 10.25 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 9,755 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Carver 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Carver with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
35K
1 in 9,755
Census rank
#1,124
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
10.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
31K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 30,640 bearers of the surname Carver in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 10.25 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1124th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Carver, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.2%. The next largest groups are Black (5.7%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Carver
The surname Carver is an occupational name that originated in England. It is derived from the Old English word 'cerfan', which means 'to cut or carve'. The name was first given to those who practiced the craft of woodcarving or stone carving.
Carver is a surname that can be traced back to the late 12th century. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name was found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1199, where a person named William le Carver was mentioned.
During the Middle Ages, the Carver surname was particularly prevalent in the counties of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Nottinghamshire. Some early spellings of the name included Carvar, Kervere, and Kervour.
In the 13th century, a family by the name of Carver owned land in the village of Carver, located in the East Riding of Yorkshire. This place name may have influenced the surname's spelling in that region.
One notable individual with the Carver surname was John Carver, who was born around 1576 in Doncaster, Yorkshire. He was a prominent figure among the Pilgrims and served as the first governor of the Plymouth Colony in America from 1620 to 1621.
Another famous Carver was George Washington Carver, an American botanist, and inventor who was born into slavery in 1864 in Missouri. He made significant contributions to agriculture and is best known for his work with peanuts and other crops.
In the 16th century, a family of Carvers resided in the village of Carver in Norfolk, England. One member of this family, William Carver, was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Norfolk in 1589.
During the English Civil War in the 17th century, a Captain Carver fought for the Parliamentarian forces. He is mentioned in the memoirs of Sir William Dugdale, a renowned English antiquary.
In the 18th century, a renowned English painter named Robert Carver was active. He was born in 1670 in Northamptonshire and is known for his portraits and still-life paintings.
The Carver surname has also been associated with various place names throughout England, such as Carver Grange in Yorkshire, Carver's Hill in Norfolk, and Carver Marsh in Lincolnshire.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Carver
Among Census respondents with the surname Carver, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.2%. The next largest groups are Black (5.7%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Carver 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 Carver surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.2% · 26,401
- Black or African American5.7% · 1,732
- Two or more races4.1% · 1,260
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 871
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 193
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 183
Timeline
Historical Census data for Carver
Carver 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
#1,079
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 32,415
+849 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 10.99
Rank movement Down 65 places
2020
#1,124
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 30,640
-1,775 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 10.25
Rank movement Down 45 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,014 | 31,566 | 11.70 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,079 | 32,415 | 10.99 | +849 bearers (+2.7%) | Down 65 places |
| 2020 | #1,124 | 30,640 | 10.25 | -1,775 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 45 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 Carver 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 | #1,079 | #1,124 | -4.2% |
| Count | 32,415 | 30,640 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 10.99 | 10.25 | -6.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Carver bearers went from 32,415 to 30,640 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 45 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,079 to #1,124.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Carver
FAQ
Carver surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Carver?
Name Census estimates that about 35,136 living Americans carry the surname Carver. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 9,755 residents.
How common is Carver?
Carver ranks #1,124 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 10.25 per 100,000 residents, which is about 10 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 30,640 people with the surname Carver. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (35,136), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 10.25 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 10.25 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 10 of them to have the surname Carver.
Has Carver become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Carver went from 32,415 recorded bearers to 30,640. That is a decrease of 1,775 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,079 to #1,124.
What does the Census say about the background of Carver?
Among Census respondents with the surname Carver, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.2%. The next largest groups are Black (5.7%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Carver in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.2% (26,401 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Carver appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.2%), Black (5.7%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Carver (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 Carver mean?
An occupational surname referring to a wood carver or sculptor. 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 Carver (10.25 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 Carver?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Carver is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.