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

Oliván, 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 Oliván surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Oliván in America

Oliván is the 38214th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Oliván surname appeared 580 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 Oliván.

We can also compare 2010 data for Oliván 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 Oliván

The surname Olivan has its origins in the Basque region of northern Spain and southwestern France, dating back to the late Middle Ages. The name is believed to derive from the Basque word "oliba," meaning "olive tree," suggesting that the earliest bearers of this surname may have been associated with olive cultivation or lived in an area abundant with olive trees.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Olivan name can be found in the archives of the Basque town of Bayonne, where a certain Juan de Olivan is mentioned in a document from 1427. This suggests that the surname was already well-established in the region by the 15th century.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Olivan name appears in various historical records from the Basque provinces of Gipuzkoa and Navarra. Notable individuals from this period include Pedro de Olivan, a merchant from Hondarribia who traded with the Spanish colonies in the Americas during the late 1500s, and María Olivan, a landowner from the village of Lesaka, whose estate is mentioned in a land registry from 1612.

In the 18th century, the Olivan name spread beyond the Basque Country as members of the family migrated to other parts of Spain and Europe. One prominent figure was Juan Bautista Olivan, a Spanish military officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars and was awarded the Cross of Saint Ferdinand for his bravery in the Battle of Vitoria in 1813.

As the 19th century dawned, the Olivan surname began to appear in various parts of the Spanish-speaking world, including Latin America. José María Olivan, a Cuban writer and journalist born in 1826, was a notable figure in the literary circles of Havana during the mid-19th century.

Another significant bearer of the Olivan name was Alejandro Olivan, a Spanish politician and lawyer from Zaragoza. Born in 1834, he served as a member of the Spanish parliament and was instrumental in drafting the civil code of Spain in the late 19th century.

Throughout its history, the Olivan surname has been associated with various professions, including agriculture, commerce, military service, and politics. While its origins can be traced back to the Basque Country, the name has since spread across Spain and beyond, reflecting the mobility and diversity of its bearers over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Oliván

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

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

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

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