2000
#124,109
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 128
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Mervar
A locational surname possibly referring to a place name in Croatia or Bosnia-Herzegovina.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Mervar. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mervar 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
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Mervar in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mervar, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%) and Black (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mervar
The surname MERVAR is believed to have originated in Scandinavia, with its earliest known traces dating back to the 12th century. The name is derived from the Old Norse word "myr," which means "marsh" or "swamp," and the word "var," meaning "spring" or "stream." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a swampy or marshy area with a spring or stream.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, where a character named Myrvar is mentioned in the Saga of Grettir the Strong, written in the 13th century. This saga recounts the adventures and misfortunes of the legendary Icelandic outlaw Grettir Ásmundarson.
In the 14th century, a variant spelling of the name, "Mervar," appeared in the Norwegian Landnámabók, a medieval manuscript that chronicles the settlement of Iceland by Norsemen in the 9th and 10th centuries. This suggests that the name had spread to other parts of Scandinavia by that time.
During the Viking Age, several individuals bearing the name MERVAR were documented as participants in various raids and expeditions. One such individual was Mervar Eriksson, a Swedish Viking who is believed to have taken part in the conquest of modern-day Normandy in the late 9th century.
In the 15th century, a prominent figure named Mervar Björnsson was recorded as a chieftain and landowner in the Icelandic Annals. These annals were a collection of historical records kept by Icelandic scribes, providing insights into the lives and events of the time.
Another notable individual with the surname MERVAR was Ingrid Mervar, a Norwegian noblewoman who lived in the 16th century. She was the daughter of a wealthy landowner and is mentioned in various genealogical records of the time.
Over the centuries, the name MERVAR has undergone various spelling variations, such as Mervahr, Mervahr, and Mervahr, reflecting the linguistic evolution and regional dialects of Scandinavia. Some of these variants can be found in historical documents, parish records, and other archival sources from different regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mervar
Among Census respondents with the surname Mervar, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%) and Black (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Mervar 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 Mervar surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.5% · 110
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mervar
Mervar 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
#133,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 127
-1 bearers (-0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,939 places
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-13 bearers (-10.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,447 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #124,109 | 128 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #133,048 | 127 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.8%) | Down 8,939 places |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-10.2%) | Down 13,447 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 Mervar 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 | #133,048 | #146,495 | -10.1% |
| Count | 127 | 114 | -10.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mervar bearers went from 127 to 114 (-10.2% change). The surname moved down 13,447 positions in the national ranking, going from #133,048 to #146,495.
FAQ
Mervar surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mervar?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Mervar. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Mervar?
Mervar ranks #146,495 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 114 people with the surname Mervar. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), 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 Mervar.
Has Mervar become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mervar went from 127 recorded bearers to 114. That is a decrease of 13 (-10.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #133,048 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Mervar?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mervar, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%) and Black (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 Mervar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.5% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mervar appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%), Black (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 Mervar (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 Mervar mean?
A locational surname possibly referring to a place name in Croatia or Bosnia-Herzegovina. 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 Mervar (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 last name Mervar?
You can see how many people have the surname Mervar on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.