2010
#158,432
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Tavoularis
A surname of Greek origin signifying someone from the town of Tavoulari.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 114 Americans carry the last name Tavoularis. That puts it at #156,005 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,006,617 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tavoularis 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
114
1 in 3,006,617
Census rank
#156,005
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
99
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 99 bearers of the surname Tavoularis in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156005th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tavoularis, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.1%) and Two or More Races (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tavoularis
The surname TAVOULARIS has its origins in Greece, tracing back to the Byzantine era. It is derived from the Greek word "tavoularios," which referred to a government official responsible for collecting taxes or managing finances. This occupational surname initially surfaced in regions where Greek influence was strong, such as parts of modern-day Turkey and the Greek islands.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name TAVOULARIS can be found in a 12th-century manuscript detailing the administrative hierarchy of the Byzantine Empire. The document mentions a certain "Ioannes Tavoularis," who held a prominent position in the imperial treasury.
During the Ottoman period, the name TAVOULARIS was prevalent among Greek communities in the Aegean region. Notable individuals with this surname include Georgios Tavoularis (1770-1842), a merchant and philanthropist from the island of Chios, and Petros Tavoularis (1824-1901), a Greek revolutionary who fought against Ottoman rule.
In the 19th century, as Greeks began emigrating to other parts of the world, the surname TAVOULARIS spread beyond its traditional geographic boundaries. One remarkable figure was Ioannis Tavoularis (1865-1932), a Greek-American businessman and community leader who settled in New York City and played a pivotal role in establishing the Greek Orthodox Church there.
Another noteworthy bearer of this name was Alexandros Tavoularis (1892-1976), a Greek diplomat and politician who served as the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs in the 1940s. He was instrumental in negotiating Greece's entry into NATO and fostering closer ties with Western allies during the post-World War II era.
In more recent times, the name TAVOULARIS has been associated with academic and artistic circles. Petros Tavoularis (1921-2008) was a renowned Greek painter and sculptor, whose works have been exhibited in galleries around the world. Likewise, Dimitrios Tavoularis (born 1947) is a distinguished professor of classics and Byzantine studies, having taught at various universities in Greece and the United States.
While the surname TAVOULARIS is now found globally, its roots can be traced back to the ancient and storied history of the Greek-speaking world, where it originated as a marker of administrative and financial responsibilities within the Byzantine imperial system.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tavoularis
Among Census respondents with the surname Tavoularis, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.1%) and Two or More Races (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Tavoularis 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 Tavoularis surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.9% · 91
- Hispanic or Latino7.1% · 7
- Two or more races1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tavoularis
Tavoularis appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#156,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 99
-3 bearers (-2.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 2,427 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #158,432 | 102 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #156,005 | 99 | 0.03 | -3 bearers (-2.9%) | Up 2,427 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 Tavoularis 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 | #158,432 | #156,005 | 1.5% |
| Count | 102 | 99 | -2.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 10.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tavoularis bearers went from 102 to 99 (-2.9% change). The surname moved up 2,427 positions in the national ranking, going from #158,432 to #156,005.
FAQ
Tavoularis surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tavoularis?
Name Census estimates that about 114 living Americans carry the surname Tavoularis. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,006,617 residents.
How common is Tavoularis?
Tavoularis ranks #156,005 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 99 people with the surname Tavoularis. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (114), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Tavoularis.
Has Tavoularis become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tavoularis went from 102 recorded bearers to 99. That is a decrease of 3 (-2.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #158,432 to #156,005.
What does the Census say about the background of Tavoularis?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tavoularis, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.1%) and Two or More Races (1.0%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Tavoularis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.9% (91 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tavoularis appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.9%), Hispanic (7.1%), Two or More Races (1.0%). 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 Tavoularis (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 Tavoularis mean?
A surname of Greek origin signifying someone from the town of Tavoulari. 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 Tavoularis (0.03 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 have the surname Tavoularis?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.