2000
#114,166
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 142
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Vandewall
A Dutch surname meaning "from the wall" or "from the rampart".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Vandewall. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vandewall 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Vandewall in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vandewall, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Black (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vandewall
The surname VANDEWALL is of Dutch origin, originating in the Low Countries during the Middle Ages. The name is derived from the Dutch words "van de" meaning "from the" and "wal" meaning "rampart" or "wall." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near or by a defensive wall or fortification.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the VANDEWALL surname can be found in the archives of the city of Antwerp, Belgium, dating back to the 14th century. The name appeared in a document from 1367, referring to a certain "Jan Vandewall," a merchant and resident of the city.
In the 15th century, the VANDEWALL name was also documented in various records from the Dutch provinces of Holland and Zeeland. In 1452, a "Pieter Vandewall" was mentioned in a land registry from the town of Delft, indicating that he owned property there.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the VANDEWALL surname spread across the Low Countries and into neighboring regions. Notable individuals bearing this name include Hendrick Vandewall (1573-1638), a renowned painter from Amsterdam, and Adriaen Vandewall (1610-1677), a prominent architect and engineer who worked on several major projects in the Dutch Republic.
As the Dutch established colonies and trading outposts around the world, the VANDEWALL name also found its way to other parts of the globe. In the late 17th century, a "Jan Vandewall" was recorded as one of the early settlers in the Dutch Cape Colony (present-day South Africa).
Other notable figures with the VANDEWALL surname include:
1. Cornelis Vandewall (1782-1859), a Dutch military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars.
2. Pieter Vandewall (1819-1896), a Belgian painter known for his landscape and genre works.
3. Henri Vandewall (1864-1932), a French-born architect who designed several landmark buildings in Brussels, Belgium.
4. Christiaan Vandewall (1901-1978), a Dutch politician and member of the House of Representatives.
5. Johanna Vandewall (1923-2011), a renowned Dutch novelist and poet, recipient of the prestigious P.C. Hooft Prize for literature.
Throughout its history, the VANDEWALL surname has been subject to various spelling variations, such as "Van de Wal," "Van der Wall," and "Vanderwall," reflecting regional linguistic differences and changes over time. However, the core meaning and origins of the name remain linked to the idea of a defensive wall or fortification in the Low Countries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vandewall
Among Census respondents with the surname Vandewall, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Black (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Vandewall 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 Vandewall surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 110
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 6
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vandewall
Vandewall 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
#136,449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
-19 bearers (-13.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 22,283 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-5 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,062 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #114,166 | 142 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #136,449 | 123 | 0.04 | -19 bearers (-13.4%) | Down 22,283 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 7,062 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 Vandewall 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 | #136,449 | #143,511 | -5.2% |
| Count | 123 | 118 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vandewall bearers went from 123 to 118 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 7,062 positions in the national ranking, going from #136,449 to #143,511.
FAQ
Vandewall surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vandewall?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Vandewall. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Vandewall?
Vandewall ranks #143,511 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 118 people with the surname Vandewall. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), 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 Vandewall.
Has Vandewall become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vandewall went from 123 recorded bearers to 118. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #136,449 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Vandewall?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vandewall, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Black (0.8%). 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 Vandewall in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vandewall appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Hispanic (5.1%), Black (0.8%). 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 Vandewall (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 Vandewall mean?
A Dutch surname meaning "from the wall" or "from the rampart". 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 Vandewall (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 Vandewall?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.