2000
#83,618
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 209
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.08
Very Rare Last name
Spanjer
An ethnic surname indicating a person of Spanish descent or origin.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 244 Americans carry the last name Spanjer. That puts it at #92,574 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,404,731 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Spanjer surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
244
1 in 1,404,731
Census rank
#92,574
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
213
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 213 bearers of the surname Spanjer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 92574th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Spanjer, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Spanjer
The surname Spanjer is of Dutch origin, and it first emerged in the Netherlands during the 17th century. The name is derived from the Dutch word "Spanje," which means "Spain," and it was likely given to someone who had either lived in Spain or had some connection to the country.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Spanjer can be found in the records of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) from the late 17th century. These records document several individuals with the surname Spanjer who were employed by the company as sailors or merchants.
In the 18th century, the name Spanjer appeared in various Dutch municipal records, such as birth, marriage, and death registers. One notable individual with this surname was Jan Spanjer (1700-1768), a Dutch painter and engraver who was born in Amsterdam.
During the 19th century, the Spanjer surname continued to be found in Dutch records, particularly in the provinces of North and South Holland. One example is Gerrit Spanjer (1822-1895), a Dutch politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives for the district of Leiden.
As the Dutch colonized parts of the world, the Spanjer surname also spread to other regions. In the late 19th century, there were individuals with the surname Spanjer living in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia).
Another individual of note with the surname Spanjer was Pieter Spanjer (1856-1932), a Dutch architect who designed several notable buildings in Amsterdam, including the Beurs van Berlage.
Other notable individuals with the Spanjer surname throughout history include Cornelis Spanjer (1902-1980), a Dutch politician who served as a member of the Senate, and Gert Spanjer (1918-2008), a Dutch resistance fighter during World War II.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Spanjer
Among Census respondents with the surname Spanjer, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Spanjer bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Spanjer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.9% · 183
- Hispanic or Latino10.8% · 23
- Two or more races2.8% · 6
- Black or African American0.5% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Spanjer
Spanjer appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#85,357
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 219
+10 bearers (+4.8%)
Per 100,000 0.07
Rank movement Down 1,739 places
2020
#92,574
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 213
-6 bearers (-2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.07
Rank movement Down 7,217 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #83,618 | 209 | 0.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #85,357 | 219 | 0.07 | +10 bearers (+4.8%) | Down 1,739 places |
| 2020 | #92,574 | 213 | 0.07 | -6 bearers (-2.7%) | Down 7,217 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Spanjer surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #85,357 | #92,574 | -8.5% |
| Count | 219 | 213 | -2.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.07 | 0.07 | 1.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Spanjer bearers went from 219 to 213 (-2.7% change). The surname moved down 7,217 positions in the national ranking, going from #85,357 to #92,574.
FAQ
Spanjer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Spanjer?
Name Census estimates that about 244 living Americans carry the surname Spanjer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,404,731 residents.
How common is Spanjer?
Spanjer ranks #92,574 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.07 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 213 people with the surname Spanjer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (244), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.07 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Spanjer.
Has Spanjer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Spanjer went from 219 recorded bearers to 213. That is a decrease of 6 (-2.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #85,357 to #92,574.
What does the Census say about the background of Spanjer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Spanjer, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Spanjer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.9% (183 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Spanjer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.9%), Hispanic (10.8%), Two or More Races (2.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Spanjer (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Spanjer mean?
An ethnic surname indicating a person of Spanish descent or origin. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Spanjer (0.07 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Spanjer?
Want to know how many people have the last name Spanjer? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.