2010
#154,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Vangeest
A Dutch surname meaning "of the ghost" or "from the spirit."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Vangeest. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vangeest 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Vangeest in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vangeest, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (5.2%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vangeest
The surname VANGEEST originates from the Netherlands and can be traced back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Dutch words "van" meaning "from" and "geest" meaning "spirit" or "ghost". The name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a church or monastery where the spirits of the deceased were believed to reside.
In the early days, the name was often spelled as "Vangheest" or "Vanghest". One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found in the Dutch municipal records from the city of Delft, where a certain Pieter Vangheest was mentioned in 1587.
The VANGEEST name has been documented in various historical records and manuscripts throughout the Netherlands. For instance, in the 17th century, a Cornelis Vangeest was listed as a merchant in the city of Amsterdam's trade registers.
As the Dutch colonized parts of the world, the VANGEEST name spread to other regions. In the late 18th century, a Pieter VANGEEST was born in Batavia, the Dutch East Indies (now known as Jakarta, Indonesia). He later became a prominent figure in the Dutch colonial administration.
One notable bearer of the VANGEEST name was Johan VANGEEST (1860-1941), a Dutch painter and art teacher who was known for his landscape and genre paintings. His works can be found in several museums across the Netherlands.
Another individual of historical significance was Adriaan VANGEEST (1891-1958), a Dutch architect who designed numerous buildings in the Netherlands, including the Rijksmuseum Twenthe in Enschede.
In the early 20th century, a Cornelis VANGEEST (1896-1975) gained recognition as a successful businessman and philanthropist in the Dutch city of Rotterdam.
The VANGEEST name has also been associated with various place names in the Netherlands, such as Geestmerambacht, a former municipality in the province of North Holland, and Geesteranus, a small village in the province of Friesland.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vangeest
Among Census respondents with the surname Vangeest, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (5.2%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Vangeest 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 Vangeest surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.1% · 99
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.2% · 6
- Two or more races5.2% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vangeest
Vangeest appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+10 bearers (+9.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 9,150 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #154,907 | 105 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | +10 bearers (+9.5%) | Up 9,150 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 Vangeest 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 | #154,907 | #145,757 | 5.9% |
| Count | 105 | 115 | 9.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vangeest bearers went from 105 to 115 (+9.5% change). The surname moved up 9,150 positions in the national ranking, going from #154,907 to #145,757.
FAQ
Vangeest surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vangeest?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Vangeest. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Vangeest?
Vangeest ranks #145,757 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 115 people with the surname Vangeest. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), 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 Vangeest.
Has Vangeest become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vangeest went from 105 recorded bearers to 115. That is an increase of 10 (+9.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #154,907 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Vangeest?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vangeest, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (5.2%) and Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Vangeest in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.1% (99 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vangeest appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.1%), Asian/Pacific Islander (5.2%), Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Vangeest (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 Vangeest mean?
A Dutch surname meaning "of the ghost" or "from the spirit." 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 Vangeest (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 common is the surname Vangeest?
You can see how many people have the last name Vangeest on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.