2000
#51,809
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 377
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.14
Very Rare Last name
Clavell
An occupational surname referring to someone who made clavels or keys.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 531 Americans carry the last name Clavell. That puts it at #49,150 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.15 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 645,488 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Clavell 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
531
1 in 645,488
Census rank
#49,150
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
463
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 463 bearers of the surname Clavell in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.15 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 49150th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Clavell, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 69.8%. The next largest groups are White (25.5%) and Black (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Clavell
The surname Clavell is derived from the Latin word 'clavis' meaning 'key'. It is believed to have originated in France during the Middle Ages.
The name first appeared in English records in the early 12th century, referring to individuals who held the position of a clerk or keeper of keys. In those times, clerks and key keepers played an important role in religious institutions and castles.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Radulfus Clavellus, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1166. Another early reference can be found in the Cartulary of St. Frideswide's Priory in Oxford, where a Richard Clavell was listed as a witness in 1192.
The surname Clavell is closely associated with the county of Dorset in England. The Clavells were an influential family in the area and owned several manors and estates, including Smedmore and Barneston. Sir William Clavell (1497-1554) was a notable member of the family and served as a Member of Parliament for Dorset.
Another prominent figure with this surname was Roger Clavell (1564-1645), an English soldier and adventurer who served under Sir Walter Raleigh in the early expeditions to the Americas. He is credited with establishing the first English settlement on the island of Newfoundland in 1610.
In the 17th century, John Clavell (1601-1643) was a renowned English dramatist and poet. He is best known for his work 'The Soddered Citizen', which satirized the social and political climate of the time.
During the English Civil War, Colonel Robert Clavell (1617-1661) was a prominent Royalist commander who fought for King Charles I. He was captured at the Battle of Worcester in 1651 and later executed.
Another notable figure was Aphra Behn (1640-1689), an English playwright and novelist who was one of the first professional female writers in Britain. Her maiden name was Aphra Clavell, and she was likely related to the Dorset family.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Clavell
Among Census respondents with the surname Clavell, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 69.8%. The next largest groups are White (25.5%) and Black (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Clavell 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 Clavell surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino69.8% · 323
- White25.5% · 118
- Black or African American3.0% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 5
- Two or more races0.6% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Clavell
Clavell 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
#43,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 496
+119 bearers (+31.6%)
Per 100,000 0.17
Rank movement Up 8,298 places
2020
#49,150
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 463
-33 bearers (-6.7%)
Per 100,000 0.15
Rank movement Down 5,639 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #51,809 | 377 | 0.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #43,511 | 496 | 0.17 | +119 bearers (+31.6%) | Up 8,298 places |
| 2020 | #49,150 | 463 | 0.15 | -33 bearers (-6.7%) | Down 5,639 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 Clavell 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 | #43,511 | #49,150 | -13.0% |
| Count | 496 | 463 | -6.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.17 | 0.15 | -8.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Clavell bearers went from 496 to 463 (-6.7% change). The surname moved down 5,639 positions in the national ranking, going from #43,511 to #49,150.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Clavell
FAQ
Clavell surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Clavell?
Name Census estimates that about 531 living Americans carry the surname Clavell. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 645,488 residents.
How common is Clavell?
Clavell ranks #49,150 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.15 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 463 people with the surname Clavell. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (531), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.15 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 Clavell.
Has Clavell become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Clavell went from 496 recorded bearers to 463. That is a decrease of 33 (-6.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #43,511 to #49,150.
What does the Census say about the background of Clavell?
Among Census respondents with the surname Clavell, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 69.8%. The next largest groups are White (25.5%) and Black (3.0%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Clavell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.8% (323 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Clavell appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (69.8%), White (25.5%), Black (3.0%). 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 Clavell (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 Clavell mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who made clavels or keys. 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 Clavell (0.15 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 are called Clavell?
Want to know how many people have the surname Clavell? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.