2010
#145,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Vanbeekum
A Dutch locational surname referring to someone who lived near a small stream.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Vanbeekum. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vanbeekum 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Vanbeekum in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanbeekum, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vanbeekum
The surname VANBEEKUM has its origins in the Netherlands, dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Dutch words "van" meaning "from" and "beekum," which is a combination of "beek" (stream or brook) and the suffix "-um" (a place name ending). This suggests that the name likely referred to someone who lived near a stream or brook.
One of the earliest known references to the VANBEEKUM surname can be found in the Leiden University Library archives, which contain records from the late 16th century mentioning individuals with this name. The name was particularly prevalent in the provinces of Gelderland and Utrecht, where many small streams and brooks flow through the landscape.
During the 17th century, the VANBEEKUM name appeared in various town records and church registers across the Netherlands. For instance, the baptismal record of Jan VANBEEKUM, born in 1643 in the town of Amersfoort, is preserved in the local church archives. Another notable early bearer of the name was Hendrick VANBEEKUM (1685-1754), a merchant and alderman in the city of Utrecht.
As the Dutch expanded their colonial efforts in the 17th and 18th centuries, the VANBEEKUM name began to appear in various Dutch settlements around the world. One such example is Pieter VANBEEKUM (1710-1785), a VOC (Dutch East India Company) officer who served in the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia).
In the 19th century, the VANBEEKUM surname gained prominence in the Netherlands with individuals like Willem VANBEEKUM (1818-1892), a renowned painter and member of the Hague School of art. Another notable figure was Johanna VANBEEKUM (1860-1936), a pioneering Dutch feminist and suffragette who campaigned for women's rights and education.
As people with the VANBEEKUM surname migrated to other parts of the world, the name underwent various spelling variations, such as VANBEECUM, VANBEEKOM, and VANBEECKOM, reflecting local pronunciation and orthographic conventions. However, the core meaning and origin of the name remained rooted in its Dutch heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vanbeekum
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanbeekum, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Vanbeekum 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 Vanbeekum surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.9% · 100
- Two or more races6.4% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vanbeekum
Vanbeekum 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
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-4 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,226 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #145,220 | 114 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.5%) | Down 4,226 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 Vanbeekum 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 | #145,220 | #149,446 | -2.9% |
| Count | 114 | 110 | -3.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vanbeekum bearers went from 114 to 110 (-3.5% change). The surname moved down 4,226 positions in the national ranking, going from #145,220 to #149,446.
FAQ
Vanbeekum surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vanbeekum?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Vanbeekum. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Vanbeekum?
Vanbeekum ranks #149,446 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 110 people with the surname Vanbeekum. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), 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 Vanbeekum.
Has Vanbeekum become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vanbeekum went from 114 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 4 (-3.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #145,220 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Vanbeekum?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanbeekum, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%). 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 Vanbeekum in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vanbeekum appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.9%), Two or More Races (6.4%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%). 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 Vanbeekum (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 Vanbeekum mean?
A Dutch locational surname referring to someone who lived near a small stream. 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 Vanbeekum (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 Vanbeekum?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.