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

Saldivar, 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 Saldivar surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Saldivar in America

Saldivar is the 2097th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Saldivar surname appeared 17,250 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Saldivar.

We can also compare 2010 data for Saldivar 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 Saldivar

The surname Saldivar has its origins in the Iberian Peninsula, specifically in the regions of Spain and Portugal. It is derived from the Spanish words "salida" meaning exit or departure, and "vara" meaning rod, staff or stick. Together, these words form the compound word "saldivar" which may have initially referred to a person who carried a rod or staff for a specific purpose or profession.

The earliest known recorded instances of the Saldivar surname date back to the 13th century in documents from the Kingdom of Aragon, which encompassed parts of modern-day Spain and France. One notable historical reference is found in the Libro de la Cadena, a medieval cartulary from the city of Jaca, where the name Saldivar appears in records from the year 1265.

During the 14th and 15th centuries, the name Saldivar began to appear in various regions of Spain, including Andalusia, Castile, and Extremadura. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was Alonso de Saldivar, a knight who served under King Alfonso XI of Castile in the 14th century.

As the Spanish Empire expanded across the Americas during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Saldivar name was carried by settlers and conquistadors to the New World. One notable figure was Juan de Saldivar, a Spanish explorer who accompanied Francisco Vázquez de Coronado on his expedition to the southwestern part of present-day United States in the 1540s.

In the 18th century, the Saldivar surname gained prominence in Mexico, where several individuals bearing this name held prominent positions. One such figure was José Mariano de Saldivar, a military officer who played a crucial role in the Mexican War of Independence against Spain in the early 19th century.

Other notable individuals with the Saldivar surname include:

1. Antonio de Saldivar, a Spanish nobleman and military leader who served as the Governor of Yucatán in the late 16th century.
2. Diego de Saldivar, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Guatemala in the early 16th century.
3. Fray Gaspar de Saldivar, a Franciscan friar and missionary who worked in the evangelization efforts in New Spain (Mexico) during the 17th century.
4. Juan de Saldivar y Mendoza, a Spanish soldier and explorer who led expeditions in present-day Texas and New Mexico in the late 16th century.
5. Margarita de Saldivar, a prominent landowner and rancher in colonial Mexico during the 17th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Saldivar

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

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

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

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