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

Tavira, 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 Tavira surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tavira in America

Tavira is the 34465th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tavira surname appeared 657 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 Tavira.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tavira 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 Tavira

The surname Tavira is of Portuguese origin and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is derived from the name of the town of Tavira, located in the southern region of Portugal known as the Algarve. The town's name itself is believed to have originated from the Latin word "tabira," which means "abundant in water," referring to the nearby Gilão River.

One of the earliest documented references to the surname Tavira can be found in a manuscript from the Monastery of Santa Cruz in Coimbra, dated 1287. This manuscript mentions a certain Martim Martins Tavira, a landowner in the region of Tavira.

During the 15th century, the surname Tavira appeared in several historical records related to the Portuguese exploration and colonization of the Atlantic islands and the African coast. One notable figure was João Tavira, a navigator who accompanied the explorer Diogo Gomes on his voyages to the Cape Verde Islands in the 1460s.

In the 16th century, the surname Tavira gained prominence with the birth of Luís de Tavira (1505-1575), a Catholic priest and theologian who served as the Bishop of Porto from 1555 to 1575. He was known for his contributions to the Counter-Reformation movement and his efforts to reform the clergy.

Another notable individual with the surname Tavira was Manuel Tavira (1585-1638), a Portuguese soldier and explorer who participated in the conquest of Brazil. He is credited with founding the city of Salvador da Bahia in 1549, which became the capital of the Portuguese colony in Brazil.

In the 18th century, José Tavira (1720-1790) was a prominent Portuguese architect and engineer. He is best known for his work on the reconstruction of Lisbon after the devastating earthquake of 1755, which included the design of several public buildings and squares in the city.

While the surname Tavira is predominantly found in Portugal and its former colonies, it has also been recorded in other parts of the world due to migration and intermarriage. For instance, there are documented cases of individuals with the surname Tavira in Spain, France, and even as far as the Americas, where Portuguese settlers and explorers established colonies.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tavira

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

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

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

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