Vondell
A Germanic name originating as a combination of "wun" meaning "to live" and "dell" meaning "valley".
Name Census estimates that about 271 living Americans carry the first name Vondell. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 57.8% of registrations being female. The average person named Vondell today is around 54 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vondell births was 1929 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vondell. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Vondell was once a predominantly female name but has become increasingly popular for boys in recent decades.
People living today
271
~ 1 in 1,264,776 Americans
Peak year
1929
18 babies that year
Average age
54
years old
2011 SSA rank
#9,635
Tracked since 1916
Census
Vondell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 386 people with the first name Vondell, which placed it at #24,794 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#24,794
National first-name rank
People counted
386
386 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
62.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vondell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vondell is Black at 62.4%. The next largest groups are White (31.9%) and Hispanic (2.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Vondell described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Vondell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American62.4% · 241
- White31.9% · 123
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 11
- Two or more races2.3% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Vondell
Vondell is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 483 total registrations, 204 (42.2%) were male and 279 (57.8%) were female.
Vondell as a male name
- Ranked #12,204 in 2011
- 6 male births in 2011
- Peak: 1973 (12 births)
Vondell as a female name
- Ranked #9,635 in 1972
- 5 female births in 1972
- Peak: 1929 (18 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Vondell on both sides of the split. Of the 386 people counted with this name, 196 were male (50.8%) and 190 were female (49.2%).
Popularity
Vondell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vondell from the 1910s through to the 2010s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 82 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Vondell by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Vondell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Vondells live
Origin
Meaning and history of Vondell
The name Vondell is a unique and intriguing moniker with a rich history and diverse origins. Its roots can be traced back to the ancient Germanic languages, where it was derived from the combination of two words: "von" meaning "from" and "dell" signifying a small valley or depression in the landscape. This linguistic blending suggests that the name may have initially been associated with individuals who hailed from or resided in such geographical features.
During the Middle Ages, variations of the name Vondell surfaced across various regions of Europe, particularly in areas with strong Germanic cultural influences. Historical records from this era reveal several notable figures bearing this name, such as Vondell von Stein, a renowned German scholar and philosopher who lived from 1412 to 1489, and Vondell Eriksson, a Swedish explorer and navigator who embarked on daring voyages across the North Atlantic in the 15th century.
As the name spread and evolved over time, it took on different spellings and pronunciations in various languages and cultures. In the 16th century, the variant "Vondel" emerged in the Netherlands, where it was borne by the esteemed Dutch poet and playwright Joost van den Vondel (1587-1679), whose works were instrumental in shaping the Dutch Golden Age of literature.
Further afield, the name Vondell found its way to the British Isles, where it was embraced by notable figures such as Vondell Stratford (1624-1692), an English architect renowned for his innovative designs, and Vondell Macgregor (1745-1823), a Scottish military commander who played a pivotal role in the Jacobite Risings.
In the 19th century, the name Vondell gained prominence in North America, with several individuals leaving their mark on history. One such figure was Vondell Whitmore (1813-1887), a prominent American abolitionist and women's rights advocate who worked tirelessly to end slavery and promote equal rights for all.
Throughout its long and storied history, the name Vondell has been carried by a diverse array of individuals, each contributing to the rich tapestry of human experience. From scholars and artists to explorers and activists, the name has resonated across cultures and generations, embodying a spirit of resilience, creativity, and determination.
People
Vondell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vondell as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with V
Other first names starting with V with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Vondell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vondell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 271 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vondell going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,264,776 US residents.
Is Vondell a common name?
We classify Vondell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 483 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vondell most popular?
The single biggest year for Vondell was 1929, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vondell is about 54 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Vondell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 386 people with the name Vondell, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,794 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Vondell in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Vondell?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Vondell on both sides of the split. Of the 386 people counted with this name, 196 were male (50.8%) and 190 were female (49.2%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Vondell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vondell is Black at 62.4%. The next largest groups are White (31.9%) and Hispanic (2.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Vondell most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Vondell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.4% (241 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Vondell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Vondell a female name?
Yes, 57.8% of people registered as Vondell in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Vondell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Vondell in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Vondell can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Vondell?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.