Find out how popular the last name Potgieter is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Potgieter.

Potgieter, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Potgieter surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Potgieter in America

Potgieter is the 142108th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Potgieter surname appeared 117 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Potgieter.

The history of the last name Potgieter

The surname Potgieter originates from the Netherlands and dates back to the 17th century. It is a combination of the Dutch words "pot" meaning pot or container, and "gieter" meaning pourer or caster. The name likely referred to an occupation involving the pouring or casting of metals or liquids into containers.

In the early 1600s, the name Potgieter can be found in records from the Dutch provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel. It is believed to have originated in these regions, possibly in small towns or villages where metalworking or pottery-making trades were common.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Potgieter is in a Dutch church register from the city of Deventer in Overijssel, dated 1632. This register mentions a baptism for a child named Hendrikus Potgieter, suggesting the family had already been established in the area.

In the late 17th century, the Potgieter name appears in records of Dutch settlers who migrated to the Cape Colony in South Africa. One notable figure was Hermanus Potgieter, born in 1669 in the Netherlands, who arrived in Cape Town in 1688 as a soldier in the Dutch East India Company.

Another prominent individual was Andries Potgieter, born in 1792 in the Cape Colony. He was a Voortrekker leader and played a significant role in the Great Trek, leading a group of Boer settlers inland from the Cape Colony in the 1830s. This migration established several Boer republics in what is now South Africa.

Other notable individuals with the surname Potgieter include:

1. Everhardus Potgieter (1808-1875), a Dutch poet and writer from the Netherlands.
2. Joachim Potgieter (1856-1945), a South African politician and lawyer who served as the first Speaker of the House of Assembly in the Union of South Africa.
3. Marthinus Potgieter (1834-1904), a South African writer and poet who played a significant role in the development of Afrikaans literature.
4. Hendrik Potgieter (1918-2007), a South African academic and writer who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of South Africa from 1973 to 1983.
5. Stoffel Potgieter (born 1967), a former South African rugby union player who played as a flanker for the national team.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Potgieter

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Potgieter.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Potgieter was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Potgieter was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Potgieter, please contact us.

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