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

Cavil, 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 Cavil surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cavil in America

Cavil is the 62359th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cavil surname appeared 321 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 Cavil.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cavil 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 Cavil

The surname Cavil is of English origin, deriving from the Old French word "caviller" which means "to raise trifling objections" or "to quibble." This name likely emerged during the late 13th or early 14th century in England.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Cavil surname can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire from 1273, which mentions a John Cavyl. This suggests that the name may have originated in the county of Bedfordshire or its surrounding areas.

In the 14th century, the name appears in various forms, such as Cavill, Cavyll, and Cavylle. These variations in spelling were common during this time due to the lack of standardized orthography.

The Cavil surname is not prominently featured in historical records like the Domesday Book, but it can be found in various parish records and tax rolls from the 15th and 16th centuries across England.

One notable figure bearing this surname was William Cavill (c. 1530-1605), an English politician and Member of Parliament for Wallingford in 1584 and 1586.

Another individual of note was John Cavill (1637-1715), an English clergyman who served as the Dean of Norwich from 1699 until his death.

In the 18th century, Thomas Cavill (1722-1794) was a prominent English architect who designed several notable buildings, including the Royal Opera House in London.

Moving into the 19th century, Samuel Cavill (1818-1892) was a British engineer and inventor who held several patents for improvements in steam engines and boilers.

Finally, one of the more recent historical figures with the Cavil surname was Henry Lancelot Cavill (1882-1962), a British army officer who served in World War I and was awarded the Military Cross for his bravery.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cavil

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

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

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

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