2000
#2,530
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,095
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.85
Uncommon Last name
Saldivar
A Spanish habitational surname referring to someone from a place called Saldivar, derived from the Basque words "zaldi" meaning "horse" and "ibar" meaning "meadow."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 17,592 Americans carry the last name Saldivar. That puts it at #2,318 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.13 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 19,484 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Saldivar 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
18K
1 in 19,484
Census rank
#2,318
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
15K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 15,341 bearers of the surname Saldivar in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.13 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2318th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Saldivar, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.4%. The next largest groups are White (5.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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 One notable historical reference is found in the Libro de la Cadena, a medieval cartulary from the city of Jaca, where the name Saldivar appears in records from the year 1265.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Saldivar
Among Census respondents with the surname Saldivar, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.4%. The next largest groups are White (5.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Saldivar 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 Saldivar surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino92.4% · 14,180
- White5.3% · 815
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 189
- Two or more races0.4% · 61
- Black or African American0.4% · 55
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 41
Timeline
Historical Census data for Saldivar
Saldivar 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
#2,097
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,250
+4,155 bearers (+31.7%)
Per 100,000 5.85
Rank movement Up 433 places
2020
#2,318
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,341
-1,909 bearers (-11.1%)
Per 100,000 5.13
Rank movement Down 221 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,530 | 13,095 | 4.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,097 | 17,250 | 5.85 | +4,155 bearers (+31.7%) | Up 433 places |
| 2020 | #2,318 | 15,341 | 5.13 | -1,909 bearers (-11.1%) | Down 221 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 Saldivar 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 | #2,097 | #2,318 | -10.5% |
| Count | 17,250 | 15,341 | -11.1% |
| Per 100K | 5.85 | 5.13 | -12.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Saldivar bearers went from 17,250 to 15,341 (-11.1% change). The surname moved down 221 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,097 to #2,318.
FAQ
Saldivar surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Saldivar?
Name Census estimates that about 17,592 living Americans carry the surname Saldivar. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 19,484 residents.
How common is Saldivar?
Saldivar ranks #2,318 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.13 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 15,341 people with the surname Saldivar. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (17,592), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.13 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.13 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Saldivar.
Has Saldivar become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Saldivar went from 17,250 recorded bearers to 15,341. That is a decrease of 1,909 (-11.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,097 to #2,318.
What does the Census say about the background of Saldivar?
Among Census respondents with the surname Saldivar, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.4%. The next largest groups are White (5.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.2%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Saldivar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (14,180 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Saldivar appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (92.4%), White (5.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.2%). 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 Saldivar (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 Saldivar mean?
A Spanish habitational surname referring to someone from a place called Saldivar, derived from the Basque words "zaldi" meaning "horse" and "ibar" meaning "meadow." 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 Saldivar (5.13 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 many people share the surname Saldivar?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.