Explore the Family Name Car

The meaning of Car

1. Croatian, Serbian, Polish, Rusyn (from Poland), and Slovenian; Rusyn (from Slovakia; mainly Cár): ironic nickname for an autocratic person, from car ‘tsar’. Compare Zarr. 2. Slovenian (Čar): shortened form of Tušar, a habitational name for someone from the settlement of Tuše (today Toše) in the Cerkljansko region in Slovene Littoral. Compare Char. 3. French: metonymic occupational name for cartwright or carter, from char (from Latin carrus) ‘wagon, cart’. 4. Amerindian (Guatemala): Mayan name, from a Castilianized form of kar ‘gadfly’. Some characteristic forenames: French Martial. Polish Iwan, Jaroslaw.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Car in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname 'Car' has seen an increase in popularity from 2000 to 2010. In the year 2000, this last name was ranked 37,200th, but by 2010, it had risen to the 30,442nd rank. This represents an overall change of 18.17%. Alongside this, the count of individuals with this surname also increased from 564 in 2000 to 767 in 2010, marking a significant growth of 35.99%. Likewise, the proportion of individuals with this surname per 100,000 people also grew from 0.21 to 0.26, signifying a 23.81% change.

20002010Change
Rank#37,200#30,44218.17%
Count56476735.99%
Proportion per 100k0.210.2623.81%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Car

Discussing ethnicity based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, there were some shifts in the ethnic identities associated with the surname 'Car'. From 2000 to 2010, the percentage of individuals identifying as Asian / Pacific Islander and those indicating two or more races both saw slight increases, moving up by 3.39% and 5.63% respectively. The percentage of individuals identifying as White decreased by 5.44%, while those identifying as Hispanic saw a considerable increase of 20.98%. The percentage of individuals identifying as Black also decreased slightly by 9.10%. Interestingly, there was no data available for American Indians and Alaskan Natives in 2000, but by 2010, they made up 0.78% of individuals with the Car surname.

20002010Change
White58.87%55.67%-5.44%
Hispanic18.97%22.95%20.98%
Black18.79%17.08%-9.1%
Asian/Pacific Islander1.77%1.83%3.39%
Two or More Races1.6%1.69%5.63%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0.78%0%