The Nieves surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 34,896 people carried this name — #1,004 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 8,450 people counted. That is up 25% from 28,011 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Nieves surname

From nieves (“snows”), shortened from María (de las) Nieves, a Roman Catholic epithet of the Virgin Mary as “Our Lady of the Snows”.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Nieves» (Spanish), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 3,856 people named Nieves live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 1,531
Salta 523
City of Buenos Aires 452
Jujuy 387
Entre Ríos 221
Córdoba 155
Río Negro 102
Mendoza 98

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

32 people named Nieves live in Switzerland.

They live in 4 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Geneva.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Geneva 16
Basel-Stadt 6
St. Gallen 5
Zurich 5

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 21 people named Nieves.

9 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 5 départements, most often Bouches-du-Rhône.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 9
Bouches-du-Rhône 4
French Guiana 3
Aude 2
Rhône 2
Yvelines 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In print

Nieves in American newspapers,
1822–1921.

Newspaper page from Alexandria Gazette & Advertiser carrying the name Nieves
Alexandria Gazette & Advertiser 1822-07-25
Newspaper page from Evening Star carrying the name Nieves
Evening Star 1921-11-20

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 31,411 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Nieves in Australian newspapers,
1860s–1940s.

457 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Nieves. The most, 374, date from the 1930s.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 4
Victoria 3
South Australia 2
Queensland 1
Western Australia 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Nieves.

Who carried it

People named Nieves,
with a public archive behind them.

  • María Nieves y Bustamante
    María Nieves y Bustamante 1871–1947 · writer
  • Elías del Socorro Nieves
    Elías del Socorro Nieves 1882–1928 · Catholic priest
  • Cástor Nieves Ríos
    Cástor Nieves Ríos 1908–1952 · politician
  • María Nieves
    María Nieves 1934–2026 · ballet dancer

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped — Elías del Socorro Nieves: Juan Carlos Fonseca Mata, CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0); Cástor Nieves Ríos: Karlangj, CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0); María Nieves: Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires from Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina, CC BY 2.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0); the others are in the public domain or CC0 · 82 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Nieves,
in the records of 2 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States660 records

660 records of the Nieves name in the United States
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 244
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 209
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 110
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 66
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 25
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 4
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record David Nieves

    Born 1949; from New York, New York. U.S. Army, pioneer; died in an accident 1969 in Binh Dinh, South Vietnam. Buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Jose Nieves

    Born 1907. Enlisted 1940 at New York City; dressmaker from New York County, New York. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1969, buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Pablo Nieves

    U.S. Army veteran of World War I. Born 1887, died 1976; buried at Puerto Rico National Cemetery, Puerto Rico.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 660 records for Nieves in the United States.

Counts: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

France8 records

8 records of the Nieves name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Edouard Nieves

    Born 1924 in Marseille; died 2001 in Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Antoinette Nieves

    Born 1919 in Marseille; died 1972 in Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Marie Dolores Nieves

    Born 1907 in Spain; died 1993 in Saint-Étienne (Loire).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 8 records for Nieves in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Nieves.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Nieves is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Nieves volume
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