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

Vagts, 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 Vagts surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Vagts in America

Vagts is the 53419th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Vagts surname appeared 387 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 Vagts.

We can also compare 2010 data for Vagts to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Vagts

The surname Vagts is believed to have originated in Germany, specifically in the region of Saxony-Anhalt, during the late medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old German word "wacht," which means "watchman" or "guard," suggesting that the name may have been occupational in origin, referring to someone who worked as a night watchman or a security guard.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Vagts can be found in the Bremisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of historical documents from the city of Bremen, dating back to the 14th century. In this document, a certain Hinrik Vagts is mentioned as a witness to a legal transaction in the year 1374.

Another notable early reference to the name Vagts can be found in the Kirchenbücher (church records) of the town of Magdeburg, where a Johann Vagts is recorded as having been born in 1492.

In the 16th century, there are records of a family with the surname Vagts living in the town of Halberstadt, in the Harz region of Saxony-Anhalt. One of the most prominent members of this family was Hans Vagts, who was born in 1567 and served as a respected magistrate and town councilor in Halberstadt.

As the name Vagts spread throughout Germany, it also underwent several variations in spelling, such as Vagts, Vachts, and Wachts. These variations were often influenced by regional dialects and the preferences of local scribes.

In the 18th century, a notable figure with the surname Vagts was Johann Friedrich Vagts, a Lutheran theologian and philosopher who was born in 1722 in the town of Nordhausen. He authored several influential works on theology and ethics, and was highly regarded in academic circles of his time.

Another prominent individual with the Vagts surname was Carl Vagts, a German-American historian who was born in 1887 in Berlin. He later immigrated to the United States and became a professor of history at Yale University, where he specialized in the study of modern European military history.

Throughout its history, the surname Vagts has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, clergy, merchants, and artisans, reflecting the diversity of occupations and social strata that characterized German society over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Vagts

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

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 Vagts 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.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Vagts has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

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 Vagts was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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