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

Quave, 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 Quave surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Quave in America

Quave is the 40800th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Quave surname appeared 535 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 Quave.

We can also compare 2010 data for Quave 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 Quave

The surname Quave is believed to have originated in the south of France, specifically in the Languedoc region, during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old French word "cava," meaning a cave or cellar, and likely referred to someone who lived or worked in or near a cave or underground dwelling.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Quave can be found in the Livre des Métiers, a medieval trade guild register from Paris, dated around 1268. It lists a certain "Jehan Quave," who was a member of the wine merchants' guild, suggesting a connection between the name and the wine trade or storage of wine in cellars.

In the 14th century, records from the town of Nîmes in southern France mention a family called "de Cava," which is believed to be an earlier spelling of the Quave name. This indicates that the name had spread beyond its initial region and was becoming more widespread.

During the Renaissance period, a notable figure named Pierre Quave (c. 1520-1585) was a prominent merchant and landowner in the city of Montpellier. He is mentioned in several local historical documents and is considered one of the earliest prominent individuals with this surname.

Another important figure was Jean Quave (1635-1701), a French Huguenot who fled religious persecution and settled in England in the late 17th century. He became a successful merchant and is considered one of the earliest bearers of the name in Britain.

In the 18th century, a French naval officer named Jacques Quave (1712-1786) served in the French East India Company and is recorded as having participated in various maritime expeditions to the Indian Ocean region.

Moving to the 19th century, a Swiss scholar named Émile Quave (1842-1912) made significant contributions to the study of linguistics and philology, particularly in the field of Romance languages.

Throughout history, the surname Quave has also been associated with various place names, such as Cavagnes in southern France, which may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the name in different regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Quave

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

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

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

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