2000
#132,259
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Gavis
The surname suggests a possible origin from a place name related to the French word "gavin" or "guevin" meaning oak.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Gavis. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gavis 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Gavis in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gavis, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.0%) and Black (5.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gavis
The surname Gavis is believed to have originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Spanish word "gavia," which means a seagull or a type of fishing boat. The name may have initially been given as a descriptive surname to someone who worked as a fisherman or lived near the sea.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Gavis surname can be found in the Catalan municipality of Gavà, located near Barcelona. The town's name, which shares a similar etymology, is documented as far back as the 10th century and may have influenced the development of the Gavis surname.
In the 13th century, the Gavis name appeared in several historical records from the Kingdom of Aragon, including a mention of a nobleman named Pedro Gavis who owned land near the city of Valencia. This suggests that the Gavis family had achieved a certain level of prominence during that time.
The Gavis surname also has a presence in the Canary Islands, where it is believed to have been brought by Spanish settlers in the 15th century during the conquest of the archipelago. One notable Gavis from this region was Juan Gavis, a military leader who participated in the conquest of Gran Canaria in 1483.
As the Spanish empire expanded, the Gavis name spread to various parts of the Americas, particularly in regions that were colonized by settlers from Spain. In the 16th century, a man named Diego Gavis was among the early Spanish settlers in what is now Mexico.
Another notable individual with the Gavis surname was Fernán Gavis, a Spanish navigator and explorer who participated in expeditions to the Americas in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. He is believed to have accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the New World in 1493.
Over the centuries, the Gavis surname has also been found in various spellings, such as Gavis, Gaveis, and Gavís, reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions. However, the original meaning and connection to the Spanish word "gavia" remain consistent throughout these variations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gavis
Among Census respondents with the surname Gavis, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.0%) and Black (5.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Gavis 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 Gavis surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.3% · 86
- Hispanic or Latino16.0% · 19
- Black or African American5.0% · 6
- Two or more races5.0% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gavis
Gavis 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
#131,379
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 129
+11 bearers (+9.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 880 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-10 bearers (-7.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,409 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #132,259 | 118 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #131,379 | 129 | 0.04 | +11 bearers (+9.3%) | Up 880 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-7.8%) | Down 11,409 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 Gavis 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 | #131,379 | #142,788 | -8.7% |
| Count | 129 | 119 | -7.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gavis bearers went from 129 to 119 (-7.8% change). The surname moved down 11,409 positions in the national ranking, going from #131,379 to #142,788.
FAQ
Gavis surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gavis?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Gavis. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Gavis?
Gavis ranks #142,788 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 119 people with the surname Gavis. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), 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 Gavis.
Has Gavis become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gavis went from 129 recorded bearers to 119. That is a decrease of 10 (-7.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #131,379 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Gavis?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gavis, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.0%) and Black (5.0%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Gavis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.3% (86 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gavis appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.3%), Hispanic (16.0%), Black (5.0%). 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 Gavis (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 Gavis mean?
The surname suggests a possible origin from a place name related to the French word "gavin" or "guevin" meaning oak. 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 Gavis (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 Americans have the surname Gavis?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.