2000
#127,186
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Vanderwerker
A Dutch occupational surname likely meaning "canal builder" or "dike worker."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Vanderwerker. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vanderwerker 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Vanderwerker in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanderwerker, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vanderwerker
The surname Vanderwerker has its origins in the Netherlands, dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Dutch words "van der werker," meaning "from the worker" or "from the laborer." This suggests that the name was initially given to someone who worked as a manual laborer or artisan.
The earliest known records of the Vanderwerker surname can be traced back to the Dutch provinces of South Holland and Utrecht. It was during this time that the name began to appear in various municipal and church records, often with slight variations in spelling, such as Vander Werker, Van der Werker, or Van der Werreker.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Vanderwerker name comes from a 1592 census record in the city of Leiden, where a certain Jan Vanderwerker is listed as a resident. Another notable historical reference is found in the 1624 baptismal records of the Dutch Reformed Church in Delft, where a child named Pieter was baptized with the surname Vander Werker.
As the Dutch explored and settled in various parts of the world, the Vanderwerker name traveled with them. In the 17th century, several individuals bearing this surname can be found in the records of the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia) and the Dutch West Indies (modern-day Caribbean islands).
One of the earliest known Vanderwerkers to arrive in the Americas was Andries Vanderwerker, who settled in New Amsterdam (present-day New York City) in the 1650s. He and his descendants played a significant role in the early development of the Dutch community in what would become the state of New York.
Another notable figure was Pieter Vanderwerker, born in 1705 in Flatbush, Long Island (now part of New York City). He was a prominent merchant and landowner, and his descendants went on to establish themselves in various parts of the United States.
In the 19th century, the Vanderwerker surname gained further recognition with individuals like William Henry Vanderwerker (1819-1897), a successful businessman and philanthropist from New York, and Gerrit Vanderwerker (1828-1904), a Union Army officer during the American Civil War.
Throughout history, the Vanderwerker surname has been carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions, including artists, scholars, and politicians. Some notable examples include Jasper Vanderwerker (1835-1904), a Dutch-American painter known for his landscapes, and Cornelius Vanderwerker (1863-1939), a respected educator and school administrator in New York.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vanderwerker
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanderwerker, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Vanderwerker 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 Vanderwerker surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.2% · 109
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vanderwerker
Vanderwerker 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
#141,140
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-6 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,954 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-7 bearers (-5.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,525 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #127,186 | 124 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #141,140 | 118 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-4.8%) | Down 13,954 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-5.9%) | Down 7,525 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 Vanderwerker 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 | #141,140 | #148,665 | -5.3% |
| Count | 118 | 111 | -5.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vanderwerker bearers went from 118 to 111 (-5.9% change). The surname moved down 7,525 positions in the national ranking, going from #141,140 to #148,665.
FAQ
Vanderwerker surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vanderwerker?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Vanderwerker. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Vanderwerker?
Vanderwerker ranks #148,665 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 111 people with the surname Vanderwerker. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), 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 Vanderwerker.
Has Vanderwerker become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vanderwerker went from 118 recorded bearers to 111. That is a decrease of 7 (-5.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #141,140 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Vanderwerker?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanderwerker, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Vanderwerker in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.2% (109 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vanderwerker appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.2%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Vanderwerker (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 Vanderwerker mean?
A Dutch occupational surname likely meaning "canal builder" or "dike worker." 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 Vanderwerker (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 many people have the surname Vanderwerker?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.