Explore the Family Name Spanier

The meaning of Spanier

1. German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): ethnic or habitational name for someone from Spain, from German Spanier, Yiddish shpanyer ‘Spaniard’. 2. Jewish (Ashkenazic): possibly also a metonymic occupational name for a maker of brocade or a cloth merchant, from Yiddish shpanyer ‘brocade’.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Spanier saw a slight shift from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, Spanier was ranked as the 20,960th most popular surname in the United States, with approximately 1,169 individuals bearing the name. By 2010, the rank had decreased slightly to 20,996th, despite the count increasing to 1,253 individuals, indicating an overall growth rate of 7.19%. However, the proportion of people named Spanier per 100,000 residents dipped by 2.33% over the same period.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#20,960	#20,996	-0.17%
Count	1,169	1,253	7.19%
Proportion per 100k	0.43	0.42	-2.33%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Spanier

In terms of ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals that the majority of individuals carrying the Spanier surname identify as White. In 2000, around 96.49% of Spaniers identified as White, a figure which grew marginally to 97.29% in 2010. The percentage of Spaniers identifying with two or more races saw a decrease from 1.37% in 2000 to 1.20% in 2010. The number of Spaniers identifying as Hispanic also fell significantly, from 1.45% in 2000 to 0.96% in 2010. There were no reported instances of Spaniers identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, or American Indian and Alaskan Native during either census year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	96.49%	97.29%	0.83%
Two or More Races	1.37%	1.2%	-12.41%
Hispanic	1.45%	0.96%	-33.79%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%