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

Vandergriff, 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 Vandergriff surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Vandergriff in America

Vandergriff is the 11508th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Vandergriff surname appeared 2,733 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Vandergriff.

We can also compare 2010 data for Vandergriff 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 Vandergriff

The surname Vandergriff has its origins in the Netherlands, first appearing in the historical records of the Dutch Republic during the 16th century. It is a compound name formed from the Dutch words "van der" meaning "from the" and "griff" which refers to a small creek or stream, suggesting that the name originated from a place name associated with a particular waterway.

One of the earliest known references to the Vandergriff name can be found in the baptismal records of the Dutch Reformed Church in the town of Leiden, where a child named Pieter Vandergriff was baptized in 1587. This suggests that the family had already established roots in the region by the late 16th century.

Over the following centuries, variations in the spelling of the name began to emerge, including Vandergrieffe, Vandergrieffen, and Vandergriefen, reflecting the fluid nature of surname spellings during that period. These alternative spellings can be found in various municipal records and legal documents from the 17th and 18th centuries.

In the early 1700s, a notable figure with the Vandergriff surname was Jan Vandergriff, a successful merchant and ship owner based in the city of Amsterdam. Born in 1672, he played a significant role in the Dutch East India Company's trading activities in the East Indies.

Another prominent individual was Dirk Vandergriff (1754-1832), a Dutch military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars. He rose through the ranks to become a lieutenant general in the Dutch Army and was awarded several honors for his distinguished service.

The name also found its way to the American colonies in the 18th century, with one of the earliest recorded instances being that of Hendrick Vandergriff, a Dutch immigrant who settled in New Amsterdam (present-day New York City) in the 1740s.

In the 19th century, a notable figure was Cornelius Vandergriff (1818-1893), a Dutch-American farmer and landowner who played a significant role in the development of the town of Denton, Texas. He donated a portion of his land for the construction of a railroad line, which helped spur the town's growth.

Another notable Vandergriff was Edward Vandergriff (1867-1948), a Dutch-American businessman and entrepreneur who founded the Vandergriff Motor Company in Arlington, Texas, in the early 20th century. The company played a pivotal role in the development of the automotive industry in the region.

Throughout its history, the Vandergriff surname has maintained a strong presence in various parts of the Netherlands, as well as in communities with significant Dutch heritage around the world, particularly in the United States.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Vandergriff

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

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 Vandergriff 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 Vandergriff 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 Vandergriff was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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