2000
#131,366
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Nidever
A variant spelling of the Germanic surname Neidhofer, denoting one who came from the place called Neidhofen.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 120 Americans carry the last name Nidever. That puts it at #152,989 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,856,286 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Nidever 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
120
1 in 2,856,286
Census rank
#152,989
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
105
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 105 bearers of the surname Nidever in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152989th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Nidever, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Nidever
The surname NIDEVER is believed to have originated in Germany in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old German word "nider," meaning "lower" or "beneath," suggesting that the name may have referred to someone who lived in a lower-lying area or valley.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the NIDEVER surname can be found in the German town of Nuremberg, where a merchant named Hans Nidever is mentioned in a local tax record from 1437. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by that time.
In the 16th century, the NIDEVER name began to appear in various parts of what is now modern-day Germany and Switzerland. One notable example is Johann Nidever, a Protestant reformer born in Zurich in 1523, who played a role in the spread of the Reformation movement in German-speaking areas.
As the centuries passed, the NIDEVER surname continued to spread across Europe, with some members of the family eventually making their way to other parts of the world. In the late 18th century, a man named Peter NIDEVER was born in the Palatinate region of Germany. He later immigrated to the United States, settling in Pennsylvania in the early 1800s.
Another prominent figure with the NIDEVER surname was William NIDEVER, an American pioneer and trapper who was born in Missouri in 1802. He was one of the first settlers in the Santa Barbara region of California, arriving in the 1830s and establishing a ranch there.
A more recent figure is Robert NIDEVER, an American businessman and philanthropist who was born in 1933 in Los Angeles. He co-founded the Gemstar International Group, a company that developed technology for interactive television programming guides, and later established the NIDEVER Family Foundation to support various charitable causes.
While the NIDEVER surname may have its roots in the German-speaking regions of Europe, it has since spread far and wide, with individuals bearing this name making their mark in various fields and countries throughout history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nidever
Among Census respondents with the surname Nidever, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Nidever 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 Nidever surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.6% · 93
- Hispanic or Latino11.4% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Nidever
Nidever 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
#145,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-5 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,854 places
2020
#152,989
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
-9 bearers (-7.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,769 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #131,366 | 119 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #145,220 | 114 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 13,854 places |
| 2020 | #152,989 | 105 | 0.04 | -9 bearers (-7.9%) | Down 7,769 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 Nidever 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 | #145,220 | #152,989 | -5.3% |
| Count | 114 | 105 | -7.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -12.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Nidever bearers went from 114 to 105 (-7.9% change). The surname moved down 7,769 positions in the national ranking, going from #145,220 to #152,989.
FAQ
Nidever surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Nidever?
Name Census estimates that about 120 living Americans carry the surname Nidever. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,856,286 residents.
How common is Nidever?
Nidever ranks #152,989 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 105 people with the surname Nidever. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (120), 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 Nidever.
Has Nidever become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Nidever went from 114 recorded bearers to 105. That is a decrease of 9 (-7.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #145,220 to #152,989.
What does the Census say about the background of Nidever?
Among Census respondents with the surname Nidever, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.4%). 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 Nidever in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.6% (93 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Nidever appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.6%), Hispanic (11.4%). 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 Nidever (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 Nidever mean?
A variant spelling of the Germanic surname Neidhofer, denoting one who came from the place called Neidhofen. 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 Nidever (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 common is the surname Nidever?
You can see how many people are called Nidever on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.