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

Caviness, 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 Caviness surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Caviness in America

Caviness is the 9407th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Caviness surname appeared 3,456 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 Caviness.

We can also compare 2010 data for Caviness 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 Caviness

The surname Caviness is believed to have originated in England, with records indicating its presence as early as the 12th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old English word "caue," meaning a cave or cavern, and may have initially referred to someone who lived near or worked in a cave.

One of the earliest known references to the name Caviness can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1176, where a person named William Caviness is mentioned. This suggests that the name was already in use during the medieval period.

By the 13th century, variations of the name, such as Cavenesse and Cavynesse, began to appear in various records across England. These variations likely stemmed from the different regional dialects and spellings used at the time.

In the 14th century, the name Caviness was associated with several notable individuals. One such person was John Caviness, a merchant from Yorkshire, who was mentioned in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1334. Another was Thomas Caviness, a landowner from Lincolnshire, whose name appears in the Court Rolls of 1375.

During the 15th century, the Caviness surname became more widespread throughout England. In 1456, a Richard Caviness was recorded as a freeman in the city of York. Around the same time, a family by the name of Caviness owned lands in the village of Cavendish, Suffolk, which may have influenced the spelling of their surname.

One of the most prominent individuals with the Caviness surname was Sir William Caviness, who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He was a respected military officer and served as the Governor of the Isle of Man from 1610 to 1616.

Another notable figure was John Caviness, born in 1642 in Lincolnshire, who became a successful merchant and served as the Mayor of Boston in 1689. His son, also named John Caviness (1675-1738), was a prominent lawyer and Member of Parliament for Boston.

In the 18th century, the Caviness family continued to establish themselves in various parts of England. One example is William Caviness (1712-1788), a wealthy landowner from Gloucestershire, who played a significant role in the local community.

As the surname spread throughout the centuries, it also found its way to other parts of the world, particularly through immigration to countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Caviness

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

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

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

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