2000
#129,619
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Vancor
A Dutch surname likely derived from the given name "Van" combined with another element like "cor" that may indicate location or occupation.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Vancor. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vancor 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
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Vancor in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vancor, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vancor
The surname VANCOR is of English origin, emerging in the late 13th century from the Yorkshire region. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "fane" meaning "weather vane" and "cor" which meant "hill". Thus, the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a weather vane on a hill.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Wakefield Court Rolls of 1275, which mention a "Robert de Vancor" as a landowner in the village of Crigglestone. There are also several references to individuals with variations of the name, such as "Vankor" and "Vancore", in various Yorkshire parish records from the 14th and 15th centuries.
In the 16th century, the name appears to have spread beyond Yorkshire, with records showing a VANCOR family residing in the village of Bledlow, Buckinghamshire. This branch of the family may have been descended from a certain William VANCOR, born around 1520, who is mentioned in the Bledlow parish registers as a yeoman farmer.
During the English Civil War era, a Captain John VANCOR (c.1610-1679) from Derbyshire is noted for his service in the Parliamentarian forces under Oliver Cromwell. After the war, he was granted lands in County Longford, Ireland, as part of the Cromwellian Settlement.
In the 18th century, a prominent VANCOR figure was Sir Thomas VANCOR (1721-1793), a wealthy merchant and landowner from Bristol. He served as Mayor of Bristol in 1772 and was knighted by King George III in 1778.
Another notable bearer of the name was the poet and playwright Elizabeth VANCOR (1768-1842), who was born in Warwickshire. Her works, which included several successful comedies performed in London theaters, were published under the pen name "E.V."
As the Industrial Revolution progressed, the name VANCOR can be found among the workers and tradesmen of various English manufacturing towns and cities, such as Birmingham and Manchester. However, it remained a relatively uncommon surname compared to others of the time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vancor
Among Census respondents with the surname Vancor, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Vancor 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 Vancor surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.3% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 4
- Two or more races1.9% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vancor
Vancor 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
#120,901
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 143
+22 bearers (+18.2%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 8,718 places
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-39 bearers (-27.3%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 32,689 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #129,619 | 121 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #120,901 | 143 | 0.05 | +22 bearers (+18.2%) | Up 8,718 places |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | -39 bearers (-27.3%) | Down 32,689 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 Vancor 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 | #120,901 | #153,590 | -27.0% |
| Count | 143 | 104 | -27.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.03 | -30.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vancor bearers went from 143 to 104 (-27.3% change). The surname moved down 32,689 positions in the national ranking, going from #120,901 to #153,590.
FAQ
Vancor surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vancor?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Vancor. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Vancor?
Vancor ranks #153,590 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 104 people with the surname Vancor. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), 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 Vancor.
Has Vancor become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vancor went from 143 recorded bearers to 104. That is a decrease of 39 (-27.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #120,901 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Vancor?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vancor, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Vancor in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vancor appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.3%), Hispanic (3.8%), Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Vancor (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 Vancor mean?
A Dutch surname likely derived from the given name "Van" combined with another element like "cor" that may indicate location or occupation. 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 Vancor (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 Vancor?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Vancor is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.