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

Leyvas, 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 Leyvas surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Leyvas in America

Leyvas is the 38050th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Leyvas surname appeared 583 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Leyvas.

We can also compare 2010 data for Leyvas 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 Leyvas

The surname Leyvas is believed to have originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is derived from the Spanish word "leyva," which means "yew tree." The earliest known bearers of this name likely hailed from regions where yew trees were abundant.

Leyvas is thought to have first appeared as a surname in the 12th or 13th century, when the use of hereditary surnames became more widespread in Spain. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in historical documents from the regions of Castile and Aragon.

One notable early figure bearing the Leyvas surname was Pedro Leyvas, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico alongside Hernán Cortés in the early 16th century. Records indicate that he was born around 1490 and played a significant role in the fall of the Aztec Empire.

In the 17th century, a branch of the Leyvas family settled in the Spanish colonial territories of the Americas, particularly in present-day Mexico and Peru. One prominent individual from this era was Juan de Leyvas y Navarro, a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Chile from 1625 to 1629.

As the Leyvas surname spread across different regions, variations in spelling and pronunciation emerged. Some alternative spellings found in historical records include Leivas, Leyba, and Leyba-Gaxiola.

Another notable bearer of the Leyvas name was Nicolás de Leyva, a Spanish military commander who fought in the Italian Wars during the early 16th century. He was born around 1480 and is celebrated for his victories against French and German forces in battles such as the Battle of Bicocca in 1522.

Throughout the centuries, the Leyvas surname has been associated with various professions and fields, including military service, politics, and literature. One prominent literary figure was José Leyvas Gaxiola, a Mexican poet and essayist who was born in 1899 and contributed significantly to the cultural renaissance of his country.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Leyvas

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!