2010
#156,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Cervas
A surname derived from the Latin word "cervus" meaning deer or stag.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Cervas. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cervas 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.
Bearers in the US
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Cervas in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cervas, the largest self-reported group is White at 50.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (38.0%) and Hispanic (11.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cervas
The surname Cervas is believed to have originated in Spain, dating back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Spanish word "ciervo," which means "deer" or "stag." The name likely referred to someone who lived near an area populated by deer or had some association with hunting or taming these animals.
In its earliest recorded instances, the surname appeared with various spellings, including Cierva, Ciervas, and Cervas. These variations were common due to the lack of standardized spelling conventions in earlier times.
One of the earliest known references to this surname can be found in the Libro de la Montería (Book of the Hunt), a 14th-century manuscript commissioned by King Alfonso XI of Castile. It mentions individuals with the surname Cervas who were involved in hunting activities during that era.
The Cervas family was particularly prominent in the regions of Andalusia and Extremadura in southern Spain. In the 15th century, records show a nobleman named Juan Cervas who held land and titles in the city of Seville.
As the surname spread across the Iberian Peninsula and beyond, it took on different forms. In Portugal, for instance, it became Cerva or Cerveira, often associated with place names like Cerveira, a municipality in the district of Viana do Castelo.
During the Age of Exploration, some individuals with the Cervas surname accompanied Spanish explorers and conquistadors to the Americas. One notable figure was Pedro Cervas, a soldier who participated in the conquest of Mexico under Hernán Cortés in the early 16th century.
In the 17th century, a prominent artist named Juan Cervas y Cabrera (1595-1666) gained recognition for his religious paintings and frescoes in various churches and monasteries across Spain.
Another noteworthy individual was José Cervas y Pantoja (1688-1768), a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Texas and Coahuila provinces in New Spain (present-day Mexico and United States).
The Cervas surname also found its way to the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. One of the earliest recorded instances is that of Sebastián Cervas, a Jesuit missionary who arrived in the Philippines in the late 16th century and worked to establish churches and schools in the archipelago.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cervas
Among Census respondents with the surname Cervas, the largest self-reported group is White at 50.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (38.0%) and Hispanic (11.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Cervas 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 Cervas surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White50.0% · 54
- Asian and Pacific Islander38.0% · 41
- Hispanic or Latino11.1% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cervas
Cervas appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
+4 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 5,109 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.8%) | Up 5,109 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 Cervas 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 | #156,044 | #150,935 | 3.3% |
| Count | 104 | 108 | 3.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cervas bearers went from 104 to 108 (+3.8% change). The surname moved up 5,109 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #150,935.
FAQ
Cervas surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cervas?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Cervas. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Cervas?
Cervas ranks #150,935 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 108 people with the surname Cervas. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Cervas.
Has Cervas become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cervas went from 104 recorded bearers to 108. That is an increase of 4 (+3.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #156,044 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Cervas?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cervas, the largest self-reported group is White at 50.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (38.0%) and Hispanic (11.1%). 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 Cervas in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.0% (54 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cervas appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (50.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (38.0%), Hispanic (11.1%). 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 Cervas (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 Cervas mean?
A surname derived from the Latin word "cervus" meaning deer or stag. 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 Cervas (0.04 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 surname Cervas?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.