Find out how popular the last name Vanco is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Vanco.

Vanco, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Vanco surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Vanco in America

Vanco is the 81458th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Vanco surname appeared 232 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Vanco.

We can also compare 2010 data for Vanco to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Vanco

The surname VANCO originated in Portugal during the 16th century. It is derived from the Portuguese word "vanco," meaning "valley" or "glen." This suggests that the name likely originated from a specific valley or glen, perhaps where the earliest bearers of the name lived or worked.

VANCO is believed to have roots in the northern regions of Portugal, particularly in the areas around Porto and Braga. Historical records from these regions mention individuals with variations of the name, such as "Vanca" and "Vancoa," dating back to the mid-1500s.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname VANCO can be found in a land deed from the town of Guimarães, dated 1572. The document mentions a "João Vanco" as a landowner in the area, indicating that the name was already established in the region by that time.

During the 17th century, the name VANCO appeared in several municipal records and church registries across northern Portugal. Notable individuals from this period include Diogo Vanco (1603-1678), a prominent merchant from Braga, and Margarida Vanco (1621-1693), a respected landowner in the village of Amarante.

As Portugal expanded its colonial efforts in the 18th and 19th centuries, some individuals with the surname VANCO migrated to other parts of the world. For instance, Manuel Vanco (1745-1822) was a Portuguese settler who established a successful farming community in Brazil's São Paulo region.

Another notable figure was Joaquim Vanco (1789-1861), a Portuguese-born military officer who served in the Brazilian Army during the Cisplatine War (1825-1828) and later became a respected landowner in the province of Rio Grande do Sul.

In more recent history, the name VANCO has been carried by notable individuals such as João Vanco (1920-2002), a renowned Portuguese architect known for his innovative designs in Lisbon and Porto, and Mariana Vanco (born 1975), a celebrated Portuguese novelist and poet.

While the surname VANCO remains relatively uncommon outside of Portugal and its former colonies, it holds a rich history rooted in the valleys and glens of northern Portugal, where it first emerged several centuries ago.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Vanco

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Vanco.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Vanco was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Vanco has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Vanco was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Vanco, please contact us.

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