2010
#157,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Yaniv
A topographic surname of Hebrew origin meaning "he will cause to flourish".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 151 Americans carry the last name Yaniv. That puts it at #133,220 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,269,896 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Yaniv 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
151
1 in 2,269,896
Census rank
#133,220
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
132
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 132 bearers of the surname Yaniv in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 133220th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Yaniv, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.3%) and Black (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Yaniv
The surname Yaniv originates from Eastern Europe, specifically from regions that are today part of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia. The name is of Jewish Ashkenazi origin and is derived from the Hebrew word "Yanoach," meaning "he will be at rest" or "he will repose." This is reflective of the Jewish tradition of adopting surnames that carry significant meanings or represent virtues.
The name Yaniv can be traced back to the early Jewish communities in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth during the 16th and 17th centuries. Jewish families in this region often adopted surnames based on their location or Hebrew terms. Yaniv likely references a connection to peace and rest, which may have been symbolic in Jewish eschatological traditions.
One of the earliest references to the name appears in synagogue records and community documents from the 18th century in regions such as Galicia, once part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. These records provide an invaluable glimpse into the lives of Jewish families in these areas and reflect the religious and cultural heritage tied to the surname.
Several historical personalities bore the surname Yaniv. Avraham Yaniv (1785-1855) was a renowned Talmudic scholar who contributed significantly to Jewish thought and literature. His works were studied across Eastern European Jewish communities and later in Jewish diasporas worldwide.
During the 19th century, the name Yaniv became associated with Jewish intellectual and cultural movements. David Yaniv (1840-1912) was a prominent figure in the Haskalah, the Jewish Enlightenment movement that advocated for the integration of Jews into European society and the modernization of Jewish culture.
The early 20th century saw notable figures like Leon Yaniv (1901-1946), an influential Yiddish poet and author whose work captured the experiences and struggles of Eastern European Jewry. His literary contributions remain celebrated in Jewish literary circles.
The Holocaust brought significant disruption to the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe, leading to diasporas that spread the surname Yaniv globally. Post-WWII, Sonia Yaniv (1923-1987) emerged as a notable historian specializing in Jewish history, whose works have been instrumental in documenting and preserving the heritage of Eastern European Jews.
Alexander Yaniv (1935-2009) was a key figure in Israeli agriculture and a pioneer in developing sustainable farming techniques, reflecting the adaptation and contributions of the Yaniv family in various fields and regions throughout history.
The surname Yaniv carries a profound historical and cultural weight, particularly within the context of Jewish history in Eastern Europe. Its legacy is not only found in records and manuscripts but also in the significant contributions of its bearers to religious, intellectual, and cultural spheres over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yaniv
Among Census respondents with the surname Yaniv, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.3%) and Black (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Yaniv 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 Yaniv surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.5% · 126
- Two or more races2.3% · 3
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Yaniv
Yaniv appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#133,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 132
+29 bearers (+28.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 24,014 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #157,234 | 103 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #133,220 | 132 | 0.04 | +29 bearers (+28.2%) | Up 24,014 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 Yaniv 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 | #157,234 | #133,220 | 15.3% |
| Count | 103 | 132 | 28.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 47.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Yaniv bearers went from 103 to 132 (+28.2% change). The surname moved up 24,014 positions in the national ranking, going from #157,234 to #133,220.
FAQ
Yaniv surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Yaniv?
Name Census estimates that about 151 living Americans carry the surname Yaniv. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,269,896 residents.
How common is Yaniv?
Yaniv ranks #133,220 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 132 people with the surname Yaniv. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (151), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Yaniv.
Has Yaniv become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Yaniv went from 103 recorded bearers to 132. That is an increase of 29 (+28.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #157,234 to #133,220.
What does the Census say about the background of Yaniv?
Among Census respondents with the surname Yaniv, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.3%) and Black (0.8%). 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 Yaniv in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.5% (126 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Yaniv appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.5%), Two or More Races (2.3%), Black (0.8%). 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 Yaniv (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 Yaniv mean?
A topographic surname of Hebrew origin meaning "he will cause to flourish". 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 Yaniv (0.04 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 last name Yaniv?
Want to know how common the surname Yaniv is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.