2000
#150,436
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Vanbuhler
A locational surname indicating someone from Bühl, Germany or surrounding areas.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Vanbuhler. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vanbuhler 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Vanbuhler in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanbuhler, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.5%) and Hispanic (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vanbuhler
The surname VANBUHLER is believed to have originated in the Netherlands or surrounding regions during the late medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Dutch words "van" meaning "from" and "buhler" possibly referring to an occupation or geographic location.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in a 15th century document from the city of Utrecht, where a certain Hendrick VANBUHLER is mentioned as a merchant and landowner. This suggests that the name may have initially denoted someone from a particular town or region associated with commerce or agriculture.
In the 16th century, records show a Pieter VANBUHLER (1502-1568) who was a renowned scholar and theologian at the University of Leiden. His works on religious philosophy and debates with Calvinists were widely circulated during the Protestant Reformation.
During the Dutch Golden Age, a notable figure with this surname was Adriaen VANBUHLER (1617-1679), a celebrated painter known for his landscapes and seascapes. Several of his works can still be found in museums across Europe.
The name also appears in 18th century maritime logs, with a Captain Willem VANBUHLER (1743-1819) commanding trading vessels in the Dutch East Indies. His voyages and encounters with indigenous peoples were chronicled in his personal journals.
In more recent history, Johanna VANBUHLER (1876-1957) was a pioneering educator and women's rights activist in the Netherlands. She founded several schools and campaigned tirelessly for equal educational opportunities for girls and women.
While the origins of the name VANBUHLER are not entirely certain, its prevalence in Dutch records over several centuries suggests a long-standing association with the region and its cultural heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vanbuhler
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanbuhler, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.5%) and Hispanic (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Vanbuhler 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 Vanbuhler surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.5% · 100
- Two or more races8.5% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 5
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vanbuhler
Vanbuhler 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
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
+8 bearers (+8.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,096 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+9 bearers (+8.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 7,262 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 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+8.0%) | Down 1,096 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+8.3%) | Up 7,262 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 Vanbuhler 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 | #151,532 | #144,270 | 4.8% |
| Count | 108 | 117 | 8.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vanbuhler bearers went from 108 to 117 (+8.3% change). The surname moved up 7,262 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #144,270.
FAQ
Vanbuhler surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vanbuhler?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Vanbuhler. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Vanbuhler?
Vanbuhler ranks #144,270 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 117 people with the surname Vanbuhler. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), 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 Vanbuhler.
Has Vanbuhler become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vanbuhler went from 108 recorded bearers to 117. That is an increase of 9 (+8.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #151,532 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Vanbuhler?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanbuhler, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.5%) and Hispanic (4.3%). 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 Vanbuhler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.5% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vanbuhler appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.5%), Two or More Races (8.5%), Hispanic (4.3%). 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 Vanbuhler (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 Vanbuhler mean?
A locational surname indicating someone from Bühl, Germany or surrounding areas. 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 Vanbuhler (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 common is the surname Vanbuhler?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Vanbuhler on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.