Nevada last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Nevada

A surname derived from the Spanish name for the snow-capped mountain range.

Nevada, 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 Nevada surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nevada in America

Nevada is the 134712th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nevada surname appeared 125 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 Nevada.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nevada 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 134712 124872 7.58%
Count 125 127 -1.59%
Proportion per 100k 0.04 0.05 -22.22%

The history of the last name Nevada

The surname Nevada is of Spanish origin, deriving from the word "nevada" which means "snowfall" or "snow-covered." This name is believed to have originated in the regions of Spain that experience significant snowfall, likely in the mountainous areas such as the Sierra Nevada range.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Nevada can be traced back to the 15th century in Spanish records and manuscripts. One notable example is Juan Nevada, a shepherd who lived in the Sierra Nevada region of Granada in the late 1400s.

During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, the name Nevada was carried across the Atlantic by settlers and explorers. One of the earliest known bearers of this surname in the New World was Pedro Nevada, a soldier who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico in the 16th century.

In the late 18th century, a family named Nevada settled in the area that is now the state of Nevada in the United States. It is believed that this family played a role in the naming of the state, which was admitted to the Union in 1864.

Notable individuals with the surname Nevada throughout history include:

  1. Francisco Nevada (1520-1590), a Spanish painter known for his religious works and murals in churches throughout Andalusia.
  2. Juana Nevada (1625-1701), a Spanish nun and writer who authored several spiritual texts and devotional works.
  3. Miguel Nevada (1780-1848), a Mexican military officer who fought in the Mexican War of Independence against Spain.
  4. Josefa Nevada (1835-1912), a Chilean educator and advocate for women's rights, who founded one of the first schools for girls in Santiago.
  5. Antonio Nevada (1890-1962), a Cuban poet and playwright whose works explored themes of national identity and cultural heritage.

While the surname Nevada is not as common as some other Spanish surnames, it has a rich history rooted in the snowy landscapes of its origins and has been carried across continents by individuals who have left their mark in various fields throughout the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nevada

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

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 Nevada was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 49.60% 62
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 15.20% 19
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 6.40% 8
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin 26.40% 33

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 Nevada has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 49.60% 41.73% 17.23%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 15.20% 16.54% -8.44%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 6.40% 7.87% -20.60%
Two or More Races (S)% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic 26.40% 28.35% -7.12%

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

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

Reference this page

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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!

"Nevada last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on July 20, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/nevada-surname-popularity/.

"Nevada last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/nevada-surname-popularity/. Accessed 20 July, 2025

Nevada last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/nevada-surname-popularity/.

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