2000
#140,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Taatjes
A Dutch surname referring to a small potato or other tuber.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Taatjes. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Taatjes 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Taatjes in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Taatjes, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Taatjes
The surname Taatjes originates from the Netherlands and dates back to the 17th century. It likely derived from the Dutch word "taatje," a diminutive form of the name Tade or Tadje, which in turn comes from the Germanic root "Tat" meaning "prosperous" or "fortunate."
Some of the earliest recorded instances of the Taatjes name can be found in Dutch baptismal and marriage records from the late 1600s and early 1700s, particularly in the provinces of Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland. The name was also present in historical documents from the city of Amsterdam during this time period.
While no direct reference to the Taatjes name has been found in major historical works like the Domesday Book, it is likely that the name's origins can be traced back to the Dutch settlements and colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries. The name may have also been influenced by the influx of German immigrants to the Netherlands during this era.
Notable individuals with the Taatjes surname include Pieter Taatjes (1618-1692), a Dutch merchant and shipowner who was involved in the early trade between the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies. Another early bearer of the name was Johannes Taatjes (1652-1721), a prominent Amsterdam-based lawyer and legal scholar.
In the 19th century, Cornelis Taatjes (1804-1879) was a respected Dutch theologian and author who wrote extensively on the topic of religious education. A century later, Petrus Taatjes (1921-2005) gained recognition as a respected botanist and professor at the University of Amsterdam, specializing in the study of plant ecology.
More recently, the American chemist David Taatjes (born 1962) has made significant contributions to the field of chemical kinetics and combustion research, serving as a professor at Ohio State University and receiving various accolades for his work.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Taatjes
Among Census respondents with the surname Taatjes, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Taatjes 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 Taatjes surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.9% · 112
- Two or more races3.4% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Taatjes
Taatjes 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
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-1 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,776 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+10 bearers (+9.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 8,021 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #140,756 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 10,776 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | +10 bearers (+9.3%) | Up 8,021 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 Taatjes 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 | #151,532 | #143,511 | 5.3% |
| Count | 108 | 118 | 9.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Taatjes bearers went from 108 to 118 (+9.3% change). The surname moved up 8,021 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #143,511.
FAQ
Taatjes surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Taatjes?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Taatjes. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Taatjes?
Taatjes ranks #143,511 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 118 people with the surname Taatjes. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Taatjes.
Has Taatjes become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Taatjes went from 108 recorded bearers to 118. That is an increase of 10 (+9.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #151,532 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Taatjes?
Among Census respondents with the surname Taatjes, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%). 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 Taatjes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.9% (112 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Taatjes appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.9%), Two or More Races (3.4%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%). 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 Taatjes (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 Taatjes mean?
A Dutch surname referring to a small potato or other tuber. 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 Taatjes (0.04 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 many Americans have the surname Taatjes?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.