2000
#11,273
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,574
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.95
Rare Last name
Vanfleet
An occupational surname for a ship owner or one who maintained a fleet of ships.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,610 Americans carry the last name Vanfleet. That puts it at #12,910 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 131,324 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vanfleet 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
2.6K
1 in 131,324
Census rank
#12,910
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,276 bearers of the surname Vanfleet in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12910th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanfleet, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vanfleet
The surname VANFLEET originated in the Netherlands during the 16th century. It is derived from the Dutch words "van" meaning "from" and "vleet" meaning "stream" or "creek". The name was likely given to someone who lived near a small stream or creek.
One of the earliest recorded spellings of the name is Vanvliet, which appears in Dutch records from the town of Delft in the year 1567. The spelling variation Vanfleet began appearing in English records during the 17th century as Dutch immigrants settled in North America.
In the Domesday Book, a medieval census commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, there are no records of the surname VANFLEET or its variations. This suggests that the name did not originate in England but rather came to the region later through Dutch settlers.
Notable individuals with the surname VANFLEET throughout history include:
1. Jan Vanvliet (1610-1668), a Dutch Golden Age painter known for his still life paintings of flowers and fruit.
2. Samuel VanFleet (1785-1865), an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from New York.
3. William VanFleet (1839-1923), a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War who received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Opequon Creek.
4. James VanFleet (1892-1976), an American lawyer and jurist who served as a judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma.
5. Josiah VanFleet (1768-1842), an early settler in Upper Canada (now Ontario) who served as a lieutenant in the British militia during the War of 1812.
The surname VANFLEET and its variations can also be found in other place names and locations, such as Van Vleet Road in West Seneca, New York, and Van Vliet Township in Montcalm County, Michigan.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vanfleet
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanfleet, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Vanfleet 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 Vanfleet surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 2,086
- Two or more races2.9% · 65
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 56
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 37
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 24
- Black or African American0.4% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vanfleet
Vanfleet 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
#12,670
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,439
-135 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 0.83
Rank movement Down 1,397 places
2020
#12,910
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,276
-163 bearers (-6.7%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Down 240 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,273 | 2,574 | 0.95 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,670 | 2,439 | 0.83 | -135 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 1,397 places |
| 2020 | #12,910 | 2,276 | 0.76 | -163 bearers (-6.7%) | Down 240 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 Vanfleet 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 | #12,670 | #12,910 | -1.9% |
| Count | 2,439 | 2,276 | -6.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.83 | 0.76 | -8.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vanfleet bearers went from 2,439 to 2,276 (-6.7% change). The surname moved down 240 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,670 to #12,910.
FAQ
Vanfleet surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vanfleet?
Name Census estimates that about 2,610 living Americans carry the surname Vanfleet. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 131,324 residents.
How common is Vanfleet?
Vanfleet ranks #12,910 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.76 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 2,276 people with the surname Vanfleet. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,610), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.76 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 Vanfleet.
Has Vanfleet become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vanfleet went from 2,439 recorded bearers to 2,276. That is a decrease of 163 (-6.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,670 to #12,910.
What does the Census say about the background of Vanfleet?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanfleet, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Vanfleet in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (2,086 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vanfleet appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Two or More Races (2.9%), Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Vanfleet (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 Vanfleet mean?
An occupational surname for a ship owner or one who maintained a fleet of ships. 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 Vanfleet (0.76 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 common is the surname Vanfleet?
Want to know how many people have the surname Vanfleet? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.