2000
#8,263
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,688
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.37
Rare Last name
Traver
A French occupational surname for a traverser or toll collector.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,933 Americans carry the last name Traver. That puts it at #9,143 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.15 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 87,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Traver 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Traver with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.9K
1 in 87,148
Census rank
#9,143
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,430 bearers of the surname Traver in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.15 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9143rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Traver, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Traver
The surname TRAVER has its origins in France and can be traced back to the early 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old French word "traveir," which means "to cross" or "to traverse." This suggests that the name was initially given to someone who lived near a crossing point or bridge.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the TRAVER name can be found in the Cartulaire de Marmoutier, a medieval cartulary from the Abbey of Marmoutier in Tours, France, dating back to the late 11th century. Here, the name appears as "Travarius," an early spelling variation.
In the 13th century, the name TRAVER began appearing in various English records, indicating that those bearing the surname had likely migrated from France to England during the Norman Conquest or shortly thereafter. One notable example is Robert le Traver, who is mentioned in the Curia Regis Rolls of Northamptonshire in 1221.
The TRAVER name is also closely linked to several place names in England, such as Trevorrow in Cornwall and Trevera in Shropshire. These place names likely originated from the same root as the surname, further solidifying its connection to the concept of traversing or crossing.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the TRAVER surname. One of the earliest was John Traver, a prominent English landowner born around 1480 in Tilbury, Essex. Another was Robert Traver, a 16th-century English lawyer and Member of Parliament, born in 1523 in Byfleet, Surrey.
In the 17th century, John Traver (1601-1670) was a prominent Puritan minister and author in Massachusetts Bay Colony. Later, François Traver (1713-1788) was a French military officer who served in the American Revolutionary War, fighting alongside the Continental Army.
Another notable figure was Zachariah Traver (1801-1880), an American politician and lawyer from New York who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1849 to 1851.
The TRAVER surname has a rich history spanning centuries and multiple countries, with its origins deeply rooted in the concept of traversing or crossing, reflecting the migratory patterns and experiences of those who bore this name throughout the ages.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Traver
Among Census respondents with the surname Traver, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Traver 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 Traver surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.7% · 3,076
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 152
- Two or more races3.4% · 115
- Black or African American1.2% · 40
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 30
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Traver
Traver 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
#8,697
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,774
+86 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 1.28
Rank movement Down 434 places
2020
#9,143
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,430
-344 bearers (-9.1%)
Per 100,000 1.15
Rank movement Down 446 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,263 | 3,688 | 1.37 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,697 | 3,774 | 1.28 | +86 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 434 places |
| 2020 | #9,143 | 3,430 | 1.15 | -344 bearers (-9.1%) | Down 446 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 Traver 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 | #8,697 | #9,143 | -5.1% |
| Count | 3,774 | 3,430 | -9.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.28 | 1.15 | -10.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Traver bearers went from 3,774 to 3,430 (-9.1% change). The surname moved down 446 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,697 to #9,143.
FAQ
Traver surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Traver?
Name Census estimates that about 3,933 living Americans carry the surname Traver. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 87,148 residents.
How common is Traver?
Traver ranks #9,143 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.15 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,430 people with the surname Traver. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,933), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.15 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Traver.
Has Traver become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Traver went from 3,774 recorded bearers to 3,430. That is a decrease of 344 (-9.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,697 to #9,143.
What does the Census say about the background of Traver?
Among Census respondents with the surname Traver, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Traver in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.7% (3,076 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Traver appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.7%), Hispanic (4.4%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Traver (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 Traver mean?
A French occupational surname for a traverser or toll collector. 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 Traver (1.15 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 Americans have the surname Traver?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.