2000
#10,843
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,698
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.00
Rare Last name
Vara
A Galician and Portuguese topographic surname referring to someone living by a wooden stake, rod, or staff.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,188 Americans carry the last name Vara. That puts it at #10,943 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.93 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 107,514 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vara 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 Vara with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.2K
1 in 107,514
Census rank
#10,943
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,780 bearers of the surname Vara in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.93 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10943rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vara, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 71.9%. The next largest groups are White (24.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vara
The surname Vara originated in Spain and has its roots in the medieval era. It is derived from the Spanish word "vara," which means "rod" or "staff." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who worked with rods or staffs, perhaps a maker or seller of walking sticks or measuring rods.
In the 12th century, the name Vara was mentioned in the Codex Calixtinus, a medieval manuscript that served as a guidebook for pilgrims traveling the Camino de Santiago. This early reference indicates that the name was already in use during that time period.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Vara was Pedro de Vara, a Spanish soldier who fought in the Reconquista against the Moors in the 13th century. Another notable figure was Juan de Vara, a 15th-century Spanish navigator who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas in 1493.
The Vara surname can also be linked to several place names in Spain, such as Vara de Rey in the province of Cuenca, and Vara del Rey in the province of Navarra. These place names likely derived from the same root word and may have influenced the surname's development.
In the 16th century, Francisco de Vara was a Spanish conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico. He was appointed as the first mayor of Veracruz, a city named after the Spanish word "Vera Cruz" (True Cross).
Another prominent individual with the Vara surname was Diego de Vara y Calderón, a 17th-century Spanish military engineer who designed fortifications in various Spanish colonies, including the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, Florida.
As the surname spread across Spain and its colonies, it also took on variations such as Varas and Varela. However, the core meaning and origin of the name remained rooted in the Spanish word "vara" and its association with rods or staffs.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vara
Among Census respondents with the surname Vara, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 71.9%. The next largest groups are White (24.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Vara 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 Vara surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino71.9% · 2,000
- White24.5% · 680
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 58
- Black or African American0.6% · 18
- Two or more races0.6% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vara
Vara 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
#9,790
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,307
+609 bearers (+22.6%)
Per 100,000 1.12
Rank movement Up 1,053 places
2020
#10,943
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,780
-527 bearers (-15.9%)
Per 100,000 0.93
Rank movement Down 1,153 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,843 | 2,698 | 1.00 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,790 | 3,307 | 1.12 | +609 bearers (+22.6%) | Up 1,053 places |
| 2020 | #10,943 | 2,780 | 0.93 | -527 bearers (-15.9%) | Down 1,153 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 Vara 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 | #9,790 | #10,943 | -11.8% |
| Count | 3,307 | 2,780 | -15.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.12 | 0.93 | -17.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vara bearers went from 3,307 to 2,780 (-15.9% change). The surname moved down 1,153 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,790 to #10,943.
FAQ
Vara surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vara?
Name Census estimates that about 3,188 living Americans carry the surname Vara. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 107,514 residents.
How common is Vara?
Vara ranks #10,943 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.93 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 2,780 people with the surname Vara. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,188), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.93 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.93 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 Vara.
Has Vara become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vara went from 3,307 recorded bearers to 2,780. That is a decrease of 527 (-15.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,790 to #10,943.
What does the Census say about the background of Vara?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vara, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 71.9%. The next largest groups are White (24.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.1%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Vara in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.9% (2,000 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vara appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (71.9%), White (24.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.1%). 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 Vara (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 Vara mean?
A Galician and Portuguese topographic surname referring to someone living by a wooden stake, rod, or staff. 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 Vara (0.93 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 Vara?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.