2000
#12,133
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,358
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.87
Rare Last name
Vanallen
A Dutch toponymic surname indicating someone from the town of Aalten in the Netherlands.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,572 Americans carry the last name Vanallen. That puts it at #13,069 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 133,264 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vanallen 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
2.6K
1 in 133,264
Census rank
#13,069
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,243 bearers of the surname Vanallen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13069th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanallen, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Black (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vanallen
The surname VANALLEN originated in the Netherlands in the 16th century. It is derived from the Dutch words "van" meaning "from" and "allen" meaning "alder trees" or "alders". The name likely referred to someone who lived near a grove of alder trees or a place named for its alder trees.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Pieter VanAllen, born around 1580 in the village of Zutphen in the Gelderland province of the Netherlands. Records show he immigrated to the Dutch colony of New Netherland (present-day New York) in 1630 and settled in what is now Albany.
The VanAllen name appears in the 1674 census of the town of Beverwyck (now Albany), indicating the family had established roots in the region. A prominent early member was Johannes VanAllen (1636-1718), a farmer and landowner whose estate was located along the Hudson River.
In the late 17th century, the VanAllen family began using the anglicized spelling "VanAllen" instead of the Dutch "VanAllen". This trend continued as the family became more assimilated into English colonial society.
Notable VanAllens from the 18th and 19th centuries include Jacob VanAllen (1731-1808), a soldier in the American Revolutionary War, and James VanAllen (1744-1826), who served as a member of the New York State Assembly.
The most famous bearer of the name was James Alfred VanAllen (1914-2006), an American pioneer in the field of space exploration. He discovered the radiation belts surrounding Earth that were subsequently named the "VanAllen Belts" in his honor.
Other noteworthy individuals with this surname include artist William VanAllen (1878-1954), known for his portraits and landscapes, and Olympic swimmer John VanAllen (born 1963), who won a bronze medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vanallen
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanallen, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Black (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Vanallen 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 Vanallen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.8% · 1,948
- Black or African American4.0% · 90
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 87
- Two or more races3.6% · 80
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 18
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vanallen
Vanallen 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
#12,842
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,397
+39 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Down 709 places
2020
#13,069
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,243
-154 bearers (-6.4%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Down 227 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,133 | 2,358 | 0.87 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,842 | 2,397 | 0.81 | +39 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 709 places |
| 2020 | #13,069 | 2,243 | 0.75 | -154 bearers (-6.4%) | Down 227 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 Vanallen 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 | #12,842 | #13,069 | -1.8% |
| Count | 2,397 | 2,243 | -6.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.81 | 0.75 | -7.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vanallen bearers went from 2,397 to 2,243 (-6.4% change). The surname moved down 227 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,842 to #13,069.
FAQ
Vanallen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vanallen?
Name Census estimates that about 2,572 living Americans carry the surname Vanallen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 133,264 residents.
How common is Vanallen?
Vanallen ranks #13,069 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,243 people with the surname Vanallen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,572), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.75 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Vanallen.
Has Vanallen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vanallen went from 2,397 recorded bearers to 2,243. That is a decrease of 154 (-6.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,842 to #13,069.
What does the Census say about the background of Vanallen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanallen, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Black (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Vanallen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.8% (1,948 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vanallen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.8%), Black (4.0%), Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Vanallen (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 Vanallen mean?
A Dutch toponymic surname indicating someone from the town of Aalten in the Netherlands. 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 Vanallen (0.75 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 Vanallen?
See how many Americans have the surname Vanallen on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.