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

Nava, 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 Nava surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nava in America

Nava is the 874th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nava surname appeared 39,670 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 13 people would have the surname Nava.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nava 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 Nava

The surname Nava originated in Spain, with its roots traced back to the early Middle Ages. It is believed to derive from the Basque word "naba," which means "flat" or "valley," suggesting that the name was originally a topographic designation for someone residing in a flat area or valley.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Nava surname can be found in the Becerro de las Behetrías de Castilla, a medieval census document from the 14th century. This document mentions individuals with the surname Nava residing in various regions of Castile, indicating that the name had already spread across parts of northern Spain by that time.

The Nava surname is also mentioned in several medieval Spanish manuscripts and records, such as the Libro de la Montería, a 14th-century hunting treatise that lists various place names, including Nava de la Asunción and Nava del Rey.

One notable early bearer of the Nava surname was Pedro Fernández de Nava, a 14th-century Spanish nobleman and military leader who fought alongside King Alfonso XI of Castile in the Battle of Rio Salado against the Moorish forces in 1340.

In the 16th century, the Nava family gained prominence in Mexico, with Juan de Nava, a Spanish conquistador, establishing one of the earliest settlements in the region of Nuevo León. Juan de Nava's descendants went on to become influential landowners and politicians in the area.

Another prominent figure with the Nava surname was Pedro Nava, a 17th-century Spanish painter and engraver who was active in Madrid during the Golden Age of Spanish art. His works can be found in various museums and collections across Spain.

During the 18th century, José María Nava y Grimón (1732-1805) was a notable Spanish jurist and politician who served as the Minister of Justice under King Charles IV of Spain.

In the 19th century, Pedro Nava Campos (1805-1873) was a Mexican politician and military leader who played a significant role in the Reform War and the French Intervention in Mexico.

The Nava surname has also been associated with several notable writers and intellectuals, such as Gregorio Nava (1897-1976), a Mexican journalist and poet, and Evelio Nava (1922-2012), a renowned Colombian writer and literary critic.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nava

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Nava, 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!