2000
#18,499
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,377
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.51
Rare Last name
Zaldivar
A Basque toponymic surname referring to someone living by a place with an abundance of sage brush.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,258 Americans carry the last name Zaldivar. That puts it at #8,516 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.24 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 80,497 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Zaldivar 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
4.3K
1 in 80,497
Census rank
#8,516
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,713 bearers of the surname Zaldivar in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.24 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8516th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Zaldivar, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 88.6%. The next largest groups are White (8.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Zaldivar
The surname Zaldivar originates from the Basque region of Spain. It is believed to have emerged in the 15th century or earlier, derived from the Basque words "zaldi" meaning horse and "ibar" meaning valley or meadow, referring to a fertile valley suitable for grazing horses.
Zaldivar is a toponymic surname, meaning it was initially taken from a place name in the Basque Country. The earliest recorded mentions of the name are found in municipal records and parish registries from villages in the provinces of Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Zaldivar name was Juan de Zaldivar, a Basque soldier who served in the Spanish conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century. He was part of the expeditions led by Hernán Cortés and later settled in the region around modern-day Guadalajara.
Another notable figure was Pedro de Zaldivar, a 16th-century Spanish explorer and conquistador who participated in the conquest of Chile and founded the city of Mendoza in present-day Argentina in 1561.
In the 17th century, the Zaldivar surname appeared in various historical records in the Basque Country, including the baptismal records of the parish church in the town of Zaldivar, located in the province of Bizkaia. This town likely contributed to the widespread use of the surname in the region.
In the 18th century, Ignacio Zaldivar, a Basque-born military officer, served in the Spanish colonial forces in the Americas and played a role in the defense of San Antonio, Texas, during the American Revolutionary War.
During the 19th century, the Zaldivar name gained prominence in Latin American countries, particularly in Mexico and Chile, where many Basque immigrants had settled. One notable bearer was Manuel Zaldivar, a Chilean politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the 1860s.
Over the centuries, the Zaldivar surname has seen various spelling variations, including Saldivar, Zaldibar, and Zalduendo, reflecting the linguistic diversity of the Basque region and the influence of other languages in the areas where bearers of the name settled.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zaldivar
Among Census respondents with the surname Zaldivar, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 88.6%. The next largest groups are White (8.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Zaldivar 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 Zaldivar surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino88.6% · 3,288
- White8.0% · 296
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 96
- Black or African American0.5% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 8
- Two or more races0.1% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Zaldivar
Zaldivar 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
#13,721
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,206
+829 bearers (+60.2%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Up 4,778 places
2020
#8,516
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,713
+1,507 bearers (+68.3%)
Per 100,000 1.24
Rank movement Up 5,205 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #18,499 | 1,377 | 0.51 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,721 | 2,206 | 0.75 | +829 bearers (+60.2%) | Up 4,778 places |
| 2020 | #8,516 | 3,713 | 1.24 | +1,507 bearers (+68.3%) | Up 5,205 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 Zaldivar 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 | #13,721 | #8,516 | 37.9% |
| Count | 2,206 | 3,713 | 68.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.75 | 1.24 | 65.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Zaldivar bearers went from 2,206 to 3,713 (+68.3% change). The surname moved up 5,205 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,721 to #8,516.
FAQ
Zaldivar surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Zaldivar?
Name Census estimates that about 4,258 living Americans carry the surname Zaldivar. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 80,497 residents.
How common is Zaldivar?
Zaldivar ranks #8,516 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.24 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 3,713 people with the surname Zaldivar. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,258), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.24 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.24 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 Zaldivar.
Has Zaldivar become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Zaldivar went from 2,206 recorded bearers to 3,713. That is an increase of 1,507 (+68.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,721 to #8,516.
What does the Census say about the background of Zaldivar?
Among Census respondents with the surname Zaldivar, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 88.6%. The next largest groups are White (8.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%). 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 Zaldivar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.6% (3,288 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Zaldivar appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (88.6%), White (8.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%). 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 Zaldivar (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 Zaldivar mean?
A Basque toponymic surname referring to someone living by a place with an abundance of sage brush. 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 Zaldivar (1.24 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 common is the surname Zaldivar?
Find out how common the surname Zaldivar is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.