2000
#13,780
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,015
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.75
Rare Last name
Vivar
A Spanish habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "vipers" or "snakes."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,620 Americans carry the last name Vivar. That puts it at #9,793 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 94,684 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vivar 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
3.6K
1 in 94,684
Census rank
#9,793
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,157 bearers of the surname Vivar in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9793rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vivar, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (5.5%) and White (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vivar
The surname Vivar originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Spanish word "vivir," meaning "to live." This suggests that the name may have been initially given to someone who lived in a particular place or had a distinctive way of life.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Vivar can be found in the Codex Calixtinus, a 12th-century manuscript that documented the history and traditions of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route. This manuscript mentions a person named Rodrigo Vivar, who lived in the town of Vivar, located near the city of Burgos in northern Spain.
The surname Vivar is also connected to the legendary Spanish hero El Cid, whose birth name was Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (c. 1043-1099). El Cid was a renowned military leader and nobleman who played a crucial role in the Reconquista, the centuries-long struggle to reclaim the Iberian Peninsula from Moorish rule.
Another notable figure with the surname Vivar was Hernán Vivar (c. 1480-1552), a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Peru alongside Francisco Pizarro. Vivar is credited with writing one of the earliest chronicles of the conquest, titled "Crónica de la Conquista del Perú."
In the literary realm, the surname Vivar is associated with the Spanish poet and playwright Juan Bautista Diamante y Vivar (1625-1687), who wrote plays and poems in the Baroque style. His most famous work is the play "El honrador de su padre" (The Honorer of His Father).
The surname Vivar also has ties to the town of Vivar del Cid, located in the province of Burgos, Spain. This town was the birthplace of El Cid and is named after him, further solidifying the connection between the surname and the legendary figure.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vivar
Among Census respondents with the surname Vivar, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (5.5%) and White (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Vivar 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 Vivar surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino90.7% · 2,862
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.5% · 174
- White2.9% · 92
- Black or African American0.4% · 14
- Two or more races0.4% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vivar
Vivar 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
#10,200
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,158
+1,143 bearers (+56.7%)
Per 100,000 1.07
Rank movement Up 3,580 places
2020
#9,793
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,157
-1 bearers (-0.0%)
Per 100,000 1.06
Rank movement Up 407 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,780 | 2,015 | 0.75 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,200 | 3,158 | 1.07 | +1,143 bearers (+56.7%) | Up 3,580 places |
| 2020 | #9,793 | 3,157 | 1.06 | -1 bearers (-0.0%) | Up 407 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 Vivar 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 | #10,200 | #9,793 | 4.0% |
| Count | 3,158 | 3,157 | -0.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.07 | 1.06 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vivar bearers went from 3,158 to 3,157 (+-0.0% change). The surname moved up 407 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,200 to #9,793.
FAQ
Vivar surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vivar?
Name Census estimates that about 3,620 living Americans carry the surname Vivar. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 94,684 residents.
How common is Vivar?
Vivar ranks #9,793 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.06 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 3,157 people with the surname Vivar. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,620), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.06 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 Vivar.
Has Vivar become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vivar went from 3,158 recorded bearers to 3,157. That is a decrease of 1 (-0.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,200 to #9,793.
What does the Census say about the background of Vivar?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vivar, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (5.5%) and White (2.9%). 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 Vivar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.7% (2,862 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vivar appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (90.7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (5.5%), White (2.9%). 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 Vivar (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 Vivar mean?
A Spanish habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "vipers" or "snakes." 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 Vivar (1.06 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 share the surname Vivar?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.