Travers last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Travers

One who lived near a bridge or river crossing, from the Old French word "traverse" meaning "to cross."

Travers, 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 Travers surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Travers in America

Travers is the 4525th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Travers surname appeared 7,833 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Travers.

We can also compare 2010 data for Travers 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 4525 4258 6.08%
Count 7,833 7,698 1.74%
Proportion per 100k 2.66 2.85 -6.90%

The history of the last name Travers

The surname Travers originated in France during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old French word "travers," meaning "across" or "transverse." The name likely referred to someone who lived near a crossroads or across a river.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Robert Travers, mentioned in the Doomesday Book of 1086, which recorded landowners in England after the Norman Conquest. This suggests that the Travers family may have accompanied William the Conqueror from Normandy to England.

In the 12th century, a branch of the Travers family settled in the village of Travers in Normandy, France. This place name, from which they likely took their surname, is believed to be derived from the same Old French root word.

A notable early figure with the Travers surname was Sir Walter Travers (1548-1635), an English Puritan theologian and controversialist. He was involved in the Hampton Court Conference of 1604, where he argued for further reforms in the Church of England.

Another significant individual was Benjamin Travers (1783-1858), an English surgeon who made important contributions to the field of ophthalmology. He was the first to describe the condition now known as Travers' fracture, a specific type of eye socket fracture.

In the literary world, Mary Travers (1936-2009) was an American singer-songwriter and member of the famous folk music group Peter, Paul, and Mary. She was known for her powerful vocals and her advocacy for social and political causes.

During the American Revolution, Reuben Travers (1740-1823) served as a colonel in the Continental Army and fought in several battles, including the Battle of Monmouth and the Siege of Yorktown.

The Travers name has also been associated with notable places, such as the Travers Stakes, a prestigious annual horse race held at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York, since 1864.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Travers

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

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 Travers was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 83.07% 6,507
Non-Hispanic Black Only 10.69% 837
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.82% 64
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.24% 19
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.86% 146
Hispanic Origin 3.32% 260

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 Travers has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 83.07% 85.28% -2.63%
Black 10.69% 10.76% -0.65%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.82% 0.52% 44.78%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.24% 0.21% 13.33%
Two or More Races 1.86% 1.31% 34.70%
Hispanic 3.32% 1.92% 53.44%

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

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

Reference this page

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"Travers last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 12, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/travers-surname-popularity/.

"Travers last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/travers-surname-popularity/. Accessed 12 November, 2024

Travers last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/travers-surname-popularity/.

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