2000
#84,968
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 205
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.08
Very Rare Last name
Kalvaitis
A surname indicating someone from the Lithuanian village of Kalvai.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 267 Americans carry the last name Kalvaitis. That puts it at #86,153 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,283,724 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kalvaitis 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
267
1 in 1,283,724
Census rank
#86,153
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
233
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 233 bearers of the surname Kalvaitis in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 86153rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kalvaitis, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kalvaitis
The surname KALVAITIS originates from Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is believed to have derived from the Lithuanian word "kalva," which means "hill." The suffix "-aitis" is a common Lithuanian surname ending that signifies belonging or descent.
The name KALVAITIS likely emerged in the 15th or 16th century when surnames became more widespread in Lithuania. It was likely first used to describe someone who lived near or on a hill, or someone who came from a place with the word "kalva" in its name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name KALVAITIS can be found in the 17th-century Metrica of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, a collection of administrative records from the Lithuanian state. The name appears in various spellings, such as "Kalwait," "Kalwayto," and "Kalwaytis."
In the 19th century, the KALVAITIS surname was associated with several notable figures in Lithuania. Jonas Kalvaitis (1817-1875) was a Lithuanian poet and translator who played a significant role in the Lithuanian National Revival movement. Antanas Kalvaitis (1841-1919) was a Lithuanian priest and historian who wrote extensively on the history of Lithuania.
Another notable bearer of the KALVAITIS surname was Juozas Kalvaitis (1857-1918), a Lithuanian priest and activist who advocated for the use of the Lithuanian language in schools and churches. He was arrested and exiled by the Russian authorities for his activities.
In the 20th century, Vytautas Kalvaitis (1913-1983) was a Lithuanian-American architect who designed several buildings in Chicago, including the Lithuanian Youth Center and the Tautiniu Nameliu Bendrovė (Lithuanian National Homes Corporation) complex.
The KALVAITIS surname is also found in other countries with Lithuanian diaspora communities, such as the United States, Canada, and Australia, where Lithuanian immigrants settled in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kalvaitis
Among Census respondents with the surname Kalvaitis, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Kalvaitis 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 Kalvaitis surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.1% · 231
- Two or more races0.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kalvaitis
Kalvaitis 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
#84,136
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 223
+18 bearers (+8.8%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Up 832 places
2020
#86,153
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 233
+10 bearers (+4.5%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Down 2,017 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #84,968 | 205 | 0.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #84,136 | 223 | 0.08 | +18 bearers (+8.8%) | Up 832 places |
| 2020 | #86,153 | 233 | 0.08 | +10 bearers (+4.5%) | Down 2,017 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 Kalvaitis 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 | #84,136 | #86,153 | -2.4% |
| Count | 223 | 233 | 4.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.08 | 0.08 | -2.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kalvaitis bearers went from 223 to 233 (+4.5% change). The surname moved down 2,017 positions in the national ranking, going from #84,136 to #86,153.
FAQ
Kalvaitis surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kalvaitis?
Name Census estimates that about 267 living Americans carry the surname Kalvaitis. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,283,724 residents.
How common is Kalvaitis?
Kalvaitis ranks #86,153 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.08 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 233 people with the surname Kalvaitis. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (267), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.08 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 Kalvaitis.
Has Kalvaitis become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kalvaitis went from 223 recorded bearers to 233. That is an increase of 10 (+4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #84,136 to #86,153.
What does the Census say about the background of Kalvaitis?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kalvaitis, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Kalvaitis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.1% (231 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kalvaitis appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.1%), Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Kalvaitis (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 Kalvaitis mean?
A surname indicating someone from the Lithuanian village of Kalvai. 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 Kalvaitis (0.08 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 Kalvaitis?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.