2010
#133,863
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 126
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Vanakin
A Russian surname possibly derived from the name Ivan or related to van meaning "hope."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Vanakin. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vanakin 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Vanakin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanakin, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (17.2%) and Black (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vanakin
The surname VANAKIN is believed to have originated in Russia during the 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the Russian word "vanaka," which means "a small vessel used for carrying liquids." This suggests that the name may have been initially given to someone who worked as a maker or seller of such vessels.
The earliest recorded instance of the name VANAKIN can be found in a census record from the city of Novgorod, dated 1571. This record lists a Ivan Vanakin, who was a merchant dealing in various goods, including pottery and ceramics.
In the 17th century, the name VANAKIN appears in several historical documents from the Volga region of Russia. One notable example is Mikhail Vanakin, born in 1632, who was a prominent landowner and local official in the town of Nizhny Novgorod.
As the Russian Empire expanded in the 18th and 19th centuries, the VANAKIN name spread to other parts of the country. One notable bearer of the name was Andrei Vanakin (1795-1867), a military officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars and later rose to the rank of general.
In the late 19th century, the VANAKIN name made its way to other parts of Europe, as well as to the Americas. One of the earliest known immigrants to the United States with this surname was Yakov Vanakin, who arrived in New York City in 1892 from the Russian Empire.
Throughout the 20th century, several individuals with the VANAKIN surname achieved notable success in various fields. These include:
1. Nikolai Vanakin (1899-1981), a Russian-born artist and painter who became known for his landscape paintings depicting rural life in the Soviet Union.
2. Yelena Vanakin (1921-2005), a Soviet-era ballerina and choreographer who performed with the Bolshoi Ballet for many years.
3. Pyotr Vanakin (1931-1997), a Soviet physicist who made significant contributions to the field of nuclear fusion research.
4. Olga Vanakin (born 1948), a Russian-American writer and journalist who has published several novels and non-fiction works exploring themes of immigration and cultural identity.
5. Viktor Vanakin (born 1962), a former professional ice hockey player from Russia who played for several teams in the Soviet Hockey League and later coached in the National Hockey League.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vanakin
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanakin, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (17.2%) and Black (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Vanakin 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 Vanakin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.0% · 94
- Two or more races17.2% · 20
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vanakin
Vanakin appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
-10 bearers (-7.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,165 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #133,863 | 126 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-7.9%) | Down 11,165 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 Vanakin 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 | #133,863 | #145,028 | -8.3% |
| Count | 126 | 116 | -7.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vanakin bearers went from 126 to 116 (-7.9% change). The surname moved down 11,165 positions in the national ranking, going from #133,863 to #145,028.
FAQ
Vanakin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vanakin?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Vanakin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Vanakin?
Vanakin ranks #145,028 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 116 people with the surname Vanakin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), 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 Vanakin.
Has Vanakin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vanakin went from 126 recorded bearers to 116. That is a decrease of 10 (-7.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #133,863 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Vanakin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanakin, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (17.2%) and Black (0.9%). 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 Vanakin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.0% (94 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vanakin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.0%), Two or More Races (17.2%), Black (0.9%). 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 Vanakin (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 Vanakin mean?
A Russian surname possibly derived from the name Ivan or related to van meaning "hope." 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 Vanakin (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 Vanakin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.