2000
#116,835
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 138
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Vadakin
A variant of the surname Wadkin, likely derived from an English place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130 Americans carry the last name Vadakin. That puts it at #147,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,636,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vadakin 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
130
1 in 2,636,572
Census rank
#147,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
113
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 113 bearers of the surname Vadakin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vadakin, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vadakin
The surname Vadakin is of Russian origin, arising in the late 15th century. It is derived from the old Russian word "vada", meaning a shallow area or ford in a river, indicating that the earliest bearers of this name likely lived near such a location. The name may also be linked to the town of Vadskoye in the Tver region of Russia, which was first recorded in historical documents from the 1500s.
One of the earliest records of the Vadakin name can be found in a census register from the village of Staritsa in the Tver region, dating back to 1587. This register lists a certain Ivan Vadakin among the local residents. Another early reference comes from a land ownership document from the year 1612, which mentions a Stepan Vadakin as the owner of a parcel of land in the nearby town of Torzhok.
In the late 17th century, the Vadakin name appears in the records of the Russian Orthodox Church, with the baptism of a boy named Grigory Vadakin in the town of Kashin in 1692. This suggests that the Vadakin family had established themselves in the Tver region by that time and were actively involved in the local community.
One of the most notable bearers of the Vadakin name was Fyodor Vadakin (1800-1875), a Russian merchant and industrialist who owned several textile mills in the city of Ivanovo. He was instrumental in the development of the local textile industry and his factories employed thousands of workers.
Another prominent individual with the Vadakin surname was Nikolai Vadakin (1842-1912), a Russian lawyer and author. He was known for his work on legal reforms in the Russian Empire and published several books on jurisprudence and legal philosophy.
Other historical figures bearing the Vadakin name include:
1. Andrey Vadakin (1745-1818), a Russian military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars.
2. Elizaveta Vadakina (1878-1943), a Russian painter and art teacher who worked in the tradition of Russian realism.
3. Pyotr Vadakin (1921-2001), a Soviet and Russian film director and screenwriter, best known for his war films and historical dramas.
4. Vasily Vadakin (1901-1977), a Soviet geologist and explorer who led several expeditions to the Arctic and Siberian regions.
5. Nadezhda Vadakina (1929-2015), a Russian mathematician and educator who made significant contributions to the field of functional analysis.
While the Vadakin surname may have originated in the Tver region of Russia, over time it has spread to other parts of the country and beyond, carried by individuals who migrated or established new branches of the family.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vadakin
Among Census respondents with the surname Vadakin, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Vadakin 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 Vadakin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.6% · 108
- Two or more races4.4% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vadakin
Vadakin 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
#125,282
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 137
-1 bearers (-0.7%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 8,447 places
2020
#147,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-24 bearers (-17.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 21,939 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #116,835 | 138 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #125,282 | 137 | 0.05 | -1 bearers (-0.7%) | Down 8,447 places |
| 2020 | #147,221 | 113 | 0.04 | -24 bearers (-17.5%) | Down 21,939 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 Vadakin 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 | #125,282 | #147,221 | -17.5% |
| Count | 137 | 113 | -17.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -24.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vadakin bearers went from 137 to 113 (-17.5% change). The surname moved down 21,939 positions in the national ranking, going from #125,282 to #147,221.
FAQ
Vadakin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vadakin?
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the surname Vadakin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,636,572 residents.
How common is Vadakin?
Vadakin ranks #147,221 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 113 people with the surname Vadakin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (130), 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 Vadakin.
Has Vadakin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vadakin went from 137 recorded bearers to 113. That is a decrease of 24 (-17.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #125,282 to #147,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Vadakin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vadakin, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Vadakin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.6% (108 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vadakin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.6%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Vadakin (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 Vadakin mean?
A variant of the surname Wadkin, likely derived from an English place name. 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 Vadakin (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 Vadakin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.