The Rivera surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 391,114 people carried this name — #46 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 754 people counted. That is up 31% from 299,463 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Rivera surname
A surname transferred from the common noun.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Rivera» (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 27,491 people named Rivera 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 mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
638 people named Rivera live in Switzerland.
They live in 18 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
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 495 people named Rivera.
223 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 42 départements, most often Hauts-de-Seine.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In the Nordic population registers
199 people named Rivera are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Rivera in American newspapers,
1897–1952.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 154,319 pages in all carry the name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Rivera.
- Ritzmann 216 · U.S. census
- Rius 153 · U.S. census
- Riva 1,271 · U.S. census
- Rival 199 · U.S. census
- Rivard 5,530 · U.S. census
- Rivas 76,205 · U.S. census
- Rivere 571 · U.S. census
- Rivero 11,096 · U.S. census
- Riveron 749 · U.S. census
- Rives 3,544 · U.S. census
- Rivet 1,949 · U.S. census
- Rivette 718 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Rivera 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.