Explore the Family Name Meave

The meaning of Meave

Basque: Castilianized form of Meabe, a habitational name from place called Meabe (in Castilian: Meave) in Biscay, Basque Country (Spain), formed with Basque mea ‘mineral vein’ + be(h)e ‘soil; lower part’.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Meave has seen a surge in popularity in the United States between 2000 and 2010. The rank of this surname jumped from 66,274th place to 57,372nd, signifying an increase of 13.43%. In terms of counts, the number of people carrying the surname Meave rose from 279 to 355, marking a more substantial growth of 27.24%. Correspondingly, the proportion of people named Meave per 100,000 residents increased by 20%, from 0.1 to 0.12.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#66,274	#57,372	13.43%
Count	279	355	27.24%
Proportion per 100k	0.1	0.12	20%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Meave

The ethnicity breakdown of the surname Meave also revealed interesting trends, as per the data collected through the Decennial U.S. Census. Hispanic identity was dominant among those with the Meave surname, remaining relatively stable at approximately 87.8% in both 2000 and 2010. The white population within the Meave surname group saw growth, increasing from 9.32% in 2000 to 11.55% in 2010—a change of 23.93%. However, the percentage representing two or more ethnicities dropped from 1.79% to zero over the same period. No significant presence of Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, or American Indian and Alaskan Native ethnic identities was noted within the Meave surname group during these years.

	2000	2010	Change
Hispanic	87.81%	87.89%	0.09%
White	9.32%	11.55%	23.93%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Two or More Races	1.79%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%