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    The surname Galvan

    A Latin surname, carried by 53,822 people in the United States.

    2 syllables Soundex G415

    Galvan: #630 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#10,001Dubon Galvan #630, 53,822 people Galvan: #630 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott Galvan #630, 53,822 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Galvan is more common than 99.6% of them.

    Origin

    Latin origin

    From Spanish Galván, ultimately from Latin Galbanus, from Galba + -anus (“-an”), from galba (“larva, worm, fatty”), from Gaulish of uncertain meaning. Doublet of Galvao, Galvano, and Galvani.

    One of 91 Latin surnames on this site.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 53,822 people named Galvan in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 5,736 Americans. That is up 34% since 2000, when the Census counted 40,046.

    #630
    rank among US surnames
    53,822
    people in 2010
    18
    per 100,000 Americans
    +34.4%
    change since 2000 (was #788)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #621Randall54,7645,638
    #622Singleton54,6215,653
    #623Kirk54,3945,676
    #624Combs54,2575,690
    #625Mathis54,2175,695
    #626Christian54,1985,697
    #627Skinner54,0465,713

    Who is named Galvan

    Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

    92% of people named Galvan identified as Hispanic or Latino (any race), 6.1% as white (not Hispanic).

    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 92%
    • White (not Hispanic) 6.1%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 0.8%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.4%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 0.3%
    • Two or more races 0.2%

    Compare: most common surnames among Hispanic and Latino Americans.

    Famous Galvans

    4 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Luis Galván
      Argentine footballer (1948–2025)
    • Rubén Galván
      Argentine association football player (1952-2018)
    • Sergio Galván Rey
      Argentine footballer, born 1973
    • Carlos Galván
      Argentine footballer, born 1973

    Notable Galvans come mostly from Argentina (3) and Colombia (1).

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Surnames that sound like Galvan

    Galvan has the Soundex code G415, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code G415.

    Other Latin surnames

    All 91 Latin surnames

    Questions

    Where does the surname Galvan come from?
    From Spanish Galván, ultimately from Latin Galbanus, from Galba + -anus (“-an”), from galba (“larva, worm, fatty”), from Gaulish of uncertain meaning. Doublet of Galvao, Galvano, and Galvani.
    How common is the surname Galvan?
    53,822 people in the United States had the surname Galvan in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 5,736 Americans. It ranked 630th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Galvan?
    In the 2010 Census, 92% of people named Galvan identified as Hispanic or Latino (any race), and 6.1% as white (not Hispanic).
    Who is the most famous person named Galvan?
    Luis Galván, Argentine footballer (1948–2025), followed by Rubén Galván.
    Where is the surname Galvan most common?
    Wikidata records people named Galvan in Argentina and Colombia.
    Is the surname Galvan getting more or less common?
    More common. 40,046 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 53,822 in 2010, up 34%.