2000
#150,436
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Vanarsdalen
From the Dutch "van Arsdalen," meaning "from Aarschot Valley" in Belgium.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 115 Americans carry the last name Vanarsdalen. That puts it at #155,682 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,980,473 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vanarsdalen 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
115
1 in 2,980,473
Census rank
#155,682
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
100
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 100 bearers of the surname Vanarsdalen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155682nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanarsdalen, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.0%) and Two or More Races (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vanarsdalen
The surname VANARSDALEN is of Dutch origin, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 16th century in the Netherlands. The name is believed to be derived from the Dutch phrase "van Arsdalen," which translates to "from Arsdalen." Arsdalen was likely a small village or hamlet in the Netherlands, although its exact location has been lost to history.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, many Dutch settlers emigrated to North America, bringing their surnames with them. The VANARSDALEN name can be found in early colonial records of New Netherland, the Dutch settlement that encompassed parts of present-day New York, New Jersey, and Delaware.
One of the earliest known bearers of the VANARSDALEN surname was Jan Willemsen van Arsdalen, born around 1620 in the Netherlands. He is recorded as having arrived in New Netherland in 1653, settling in the area that is now Brooklyn, New York.
Another notable figure was Pieter Jacobsen van Arsdalen, born in 1675 in Flatbush, New Netherland (now part of Brooklyn). He was a farmer and landowner, and his descendants continued to use the VANARSDALEN surname in the New York and New Jersey areas.
In the 18th century, the name appears in various records and documents, such as church records, land deeds, and census records. For example, Hendrick Vanarsdalen (born around 1720) is listed in the 1790 United States Census as a resident of Somerset County, New Jersey.
During the American Revolutionary War, several individuals with the VANARSDALEN surname served in the Continental Army, including Cornelius Vanarsdalen (1735-1815), who fought in the Battle of Monmouth in 1778.
In the 19th century, the VANARSDALEN name spread across various parts of the United States as families migrated westward. One notable bearer was John Vanarsdalen (1826-1899), a farmer and politician from Indiana who served as a state senator in the late 1800s.
Throughout its history, the VANARSDALEN surname has been subject to various spellings and variations, including Van Arsdalen, Van Arsdalen, and Vanarsdalen, reflecting the linguistic and cultural influences of different regions and time periods.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vanarsdalen
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanarsdalen, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.0%) and Two or More Races (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Vanarsdalen 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 Vanarsdalen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.0% · 96
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.0% · 3
- Two or more races1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vanarsdalen
Vanarsdalen 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
#152,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
+7 bearers (+7.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,192 places
2020
#155,682
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
-7 bearers (-6.5%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 3,054 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #150,436 | 100 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #152,628 | 107 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+7.0%) | Down 2,192 places |
| 2020 | #155,682 | 100 | 0.03 | -7 bearers (-6.5%) | Down 3,054 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 Vanarsdalen 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 | #152,628 | #155,682 | -2.0% |
| Count | 107 | 100 | -6.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -16.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vanarsdalen bearers went from 107 to 100 (-6.5% change). The surname moved down 3,054 positions in the national ranking, going from #152,628 to #155,682.
FAQ
Vanarsdalen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vanarsdalen?
Name Census estimates that about 115 living Americans carry the surname Vanarsdalen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,980,473 residents.
How common is Vanarsdalen?
Vanarsdalen ranks #155,682 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 100 people with the surname Vanarsdalen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (115), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Vanarsdalen.
Has Vanarsdalen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vanarsdalen went from 107 recorded bearers to 100. That is a decrease of 7 (-6.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #152,628 to #155,682.
What does the Census say about the background of Vanarsdalen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanarsdalen, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.0%) and Two or More Races (1.0%). 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 Vanarsdalen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.0% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vanarsdalen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.0%), Two or More Races (1.0%). 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 Vanarsdalen (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 Vanarsdalen mean?
From the Dutch "van Arsdalen," meaning "from Aarschot Valley" in Belgium. 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 Vanarsdalen (0.03 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 Vanarsdalen?
Find out how many people have the surname Vanarsdalen on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.