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

Tovar, 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 Tovar surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tovar in America

Tovar is the 1070th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tovar surname appeared 32,760 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 11 people would have the surname Tovar.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tovar 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 Tovar

The surname Tovar originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Spanish word "tovar," which means a meadow or grassland. This suggests that the name may have been initially given to someone who lived near or owned a meadow or grassland area.

The name Tovar can be traced back to the 12th century in Spain, where it was found in various regions, including Castile, Aragon, and Andalusia. The earliest recorded instance of the name appears in a document from the year 1187, which mentions a person named Rodrigo Tovar.

In the 13th century, the name Tovar is mentioned in the "Libro de la Montería," a hunting treatise written under the patronage of King Alfonso XI of Castile (1311-1350). This book records the names of various huntsmen and falconers, including several individuals with the surname Tovar.

During the 15th century, the Tovar family gained prominence in Spain, with several members holding important positions in the royal court and the military. One notable figure was Juan de Tovar, who served as a military commander under King Ferdinand II of Aragon (1452-1516) during the Reconquista and the conquest of Granada.

In the 16th century, the Tovar family expanded their influence to the Americas, with several members participating in the Spanish colonization efforts. One of the most famous figures was Pedro de Tovar, a conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico in the 1520s.

Another prominent individual with the surname Tovar was Juan de Tovar y Guzmán, a Spanish nobleman who served as the Governor of Margarita Island (present-day Venezuela) in the late 16th century.

During the 17th century, the name Tovar gained recognition in the field of literature, with the Spanish poet and playwright Gabriel Téllez, known by his pen name Tirso de Molina (1579-1648), being one of the most famous individuals with this surname.

In the 18th century, José Tovar y Tovar (1675-1736) was a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Panama and later as the Viceroy of New Granada (present-day Colombia and Panama).

The surname Tovar has also been associated with several notable individuals in more recent times, such as the Mexican archaeologist and linguist Juan Tovar (1941-2022), who was renowned for his studies on the indigenous languages of Mesoamerica.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tovar

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!