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

VanDrunen, 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 VanDrunen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of VanDrunen in America

VanDrunen is the 46725th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The VanDrunen surname appeared 455 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname VanDrunen.

We can also compare 2010 data for VanDrunen 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 VanDrunen

The surname VANDRUNEN is of Dutch origin, tracing its roots back to the Netherlands during the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Dutch phrase "van der unen," which translates to "from the meadows" or "from the pastures." This suggests that the name's earliest bearers may have hailed from rural or agricultural communities situated within the low-lying regions of the Netherlands.

One of the earliest known records of the VANDRUNEN surname can be found in the Utrecht Archives, dating back to the 15th century. A document from 1487 mentions a certain "Geert van der Unen," possibly a landowner or farmer from the Utrecht region. Another early reference to the name appears in the Leiden Municipal Archives, where a "Willem van der Unen" is listed as a resident of the city in 1521.

As the Dutch population began to migrate and settle in other parts of Europe and the New World, the VANDRUNEN name traveled with them. In the 17th century, during the height of the Dutch Golden Age, a merchant named Pieter VANDRUNEN (1612-1682) is documented as having traded extensively with the Dutch East Indies Company, establishing commercial ties between the Netherlands and its overseas colonies.

The VANDRUNEN surname also found its way to the American colonies, with one of the earliest recorded instances being that of Johannes VANDRUNEN (1638-1712), a Dutch settler who arrived in New Amsterdam (present-day New York City) in the late 1600s. He is believed to have been among the first bearers of the name in the New World.

Another notable figure with the VANDRUNEN surname was Adriaan VANDRUNEN (1771-1845), a Dutch military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and later became a prominent figure in the Dutch East Indies. He played a crucial role in the defense of the island of Java against the British during the Java War of 1811-1816.

In more recent times, the VANDRUNEN name has been associated with individuals from various fields, including academia and the arts. One such figure is Dirk VANDRUNEN (1908-1984), a renowned Dutch-American physicist who made significant contributions to the field of quantum mechanics and worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II.

While the VANDRUNEN surname may have evolved over time and spread across different regions, its origins can be traced back to the Dutch countryside, where it likely originated as a descriptive name denoting the occupations or geographical locations of its earliest bearers.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name VanDrunen

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

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

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

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