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

Cavaliere, 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 Cavaliere surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cavaliere in America

Cavaliere is the 11057th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cavaliere surname appeared 2,875 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Cavaliere.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cavaliere to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Cavaliere

The surname Cavaliere originated in Italy during the medieval period. It is derived from the Italian word "cavaliere," which means "knight" or "horseman." This term traces its roots back to the Latin word "caballarius," which also referred to a horseman or cavalryman.

The name Cavaliere was likely first adopted by individuals who were knights or horsemen in service to nobility or the military. It may also have been given as a descriptive surname to those who worked with horses or had professions related to horses, such as stablehands or farriers.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cavaliere can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Cavensis, a collection of medieval documents from the Monastery of Cava in southern Italy, dating back to the 11th century. The name appears in various spellings, such as "Cavaleri" and "Cavalieri," in these records.

During the Renaissance period, the Cavaliere family gained prominence in Italy. Francesco Cavaliere (1472-1544), an Italian painter and architect from Bergamo, was a notable figure from this time. He was known for his work on the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome and the Church of Sant'Agostino in Bergamo.

Another notable individual with the surname Cavaliere was Emilio Cavaliere (1550-1602), an Italian composer and lutenist from Rome. He was a prominent figure in the early Baroque era and contributed to the development of the monodic style, which paved the way for opera.

In the 18th century, Giuseppe Cavaliere (1726-1801) was a renowned Italian architect and engineer from Naples. He designed several notable buildings in Naples, including the Church of San Francesco di Paola and the Palazzo Cavaliere.

During the 19th century, Vincenzo Cavaliere (1832-1898) was an Italian painter and sculptor from Naples. He is best known for his sculptures adorning the Galleria Umberto I in Naples and the Teatro Massimo in Palermo.

Lina Cavaliere (1859-1944) was an Italian operatic soprano from Naples who had a successful career performing in many of the major opera houses of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cavaliere

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

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 Cavaliere 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.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Cavaliere has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

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

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

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