2010
#128,249
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 133
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Vanaller
A Dutch surname derived from "van der Aller", meaning "from the Aller River" region.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Vanaller. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vanaller 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Vanaller in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanaller, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.7%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vanaller
The surname VANALLER is believed to have originated in the Netherlands during the 16th century. It is derived from the Dutch words "van" meaning "from" and "aller" which is thought to be a variation of the word "haler" meaning a person who fetches or retrieves something.
VANALLER may have initially referred to a person who worked as a fetcher or retriever of goods or materials. The name is first recorded in Dutch census records from the city of Amsterdam in 1587, with the spelling "Van Aller".
In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, variations of the name began appearing in other parts of the Netherlands and neighboring regions, such as "Van Alder", "Van Alre", and "Van Aleer". These likely stemmed from regional dialects and spelling variations.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Pieter van Aller, a merchant from Rotterdam who was born in 1602. Records show he traded goods across the North Sea with ports in England and Scotland.
Another notable figure was Jan van Aller, a Dutch sailor who served on the ship "De Zeven Provinciën" during the Battle of the Downs in 1639, a naval engagement between the Dutch and Spanish fleets.
In the 18th century, the VANALLER name spread to other parts of Europe and beyond through emigration and trade. Johan van Aller, born in 1725 in Amsterdam, was one of the first recorded bearers of the name to settle in the Cape Colony of South Africa.
One of the most prominent individuals with the VANALLER surname was Dirk van Aller, a Dutch military officer who served in the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) during the 19th century. He was born in 1801 in Delft and rose through the ranks to become a highly decorated general.
In the United States, the earliest record of the name dates back to the late 18th century, with the arrival of Dutch immigrants. One of the first was Hendrick Vanaller, who settled in New York in 1792 and worked as a farmer.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vanaller
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanaller, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.7%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Vanaller 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 Vanaller surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.1% · 106
- Two or more races6.7% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vanaller
Vanaller 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
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-14 bearers (-10.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 14,539 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #128,249 | 133 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | -14 bearers (-10.5%) | Down 14,539 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 Vanaller 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 | #128,249 | #142,788 | -11.3% |
| Count | 133 | 119 | -10.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -20.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vanaller bearers went from 133 to 119 (-10.5% change). The surname moved down 14,539 positions in the national ranking, going from #128,249 to #142,788.
FAQ
Vanaller surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vanaller?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Vanaller. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Vanaller?
Vanaller ranks #142,788 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 119 people with the surname Vanaller. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), 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 Vanaller.
Has Vanaller become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vanaller went from 133 recorded bearers to 119. That is a decrease of 14 (-10.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #128,249 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Vanaller?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanaller, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.7%) and Hispanic (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 Vanaller in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vanaller appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.1%), Two or More Races (6.7%), Hispanic (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 Vanaller (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 Vanaller mean?
A Dutch surname derived from "van der Aller", meaning "from the Aller River" region. 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 Vanaller (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 people are called Vanaller?
You can see how many people are called Vanaller on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.