2000
#10,736
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,729
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.01
Rare Last name
Vandergriff
An occupational surname referring to someone who lived near a canal or ditch, derived from Dutch "van der grift."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,815 Americans carry the last name Vandergriff. That puts it at #12,118 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.82 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 121,760 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vandergriff 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
2.8K
1 in 121,760
Census rank
#12,118
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,455 bearers of the surname Vandergriff in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.82 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12118th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vandergriff, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Black (4.2%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vandergriff
Among Census respondents with the surname Vandergriff, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Black (4.2%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Vandergriff 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 Vandergriff surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.4% · 2,146
- Black or African American4.2% · 104
- Two or more races4.0% · 99
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 76
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 20
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vandergriff
Vandergriff 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
#11,508
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,733
+4 bearers (+0.1%)
Per 100,000 0.93
Rank movement Down 772 places
2020
#12,118
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,455
-278 bearers (-10.2%)
Per 100,000 0.82
Rank movement Down 610 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,736 | 2,729 | 1.01 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,508 | 2,733 | 0.93 | +4 bearers (+0.1%) | Down 772 places |
| 2020 | #12,118 | 2,455 | 0.82 | -278 bearers (-10.2%) | Down 610 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 Vandergriff 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 | #11,508 | #12,118 | -5.3% |
| Count | 2,733 | 2,455 | -10.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.93 | 0.82 | -11.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vandergriff bearers went from 2,733 to 2,455 (-10.2% change). The surname moved down 610 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,508 to #12,118.
FAQ
Vandergriff surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vandergriff?
Name Census estimates that about 2,815 living Americans carry the surname Vandergriff. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 121,760 residents.
How common is Vandergriff?
Vandergriff ranks #12,118 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.82 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,455 people with the surname Vandergriff. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,815), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.82 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.82 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Vandergriff.
Has Vandergriff become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vandergriff went from 2,733 recorded bearers to 2,455. That is a decrease of 278 (-10.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,508 to #12,118.
What does the Census say about the background of Vandergriff?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vandergriff, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Black (4.2%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Vandergriff in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.4% (2,146 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vandergriff appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.4%), Black (4.2%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Vandergriff (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 Vandergriff mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who lived near a canal or ditch, derived from Dutch "van der grift." 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 Vandergriff (0.82 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 Vandergriff?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.