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

VanGelder, 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 VanGelder surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of VanGelder in America

VanGelder is the 23881st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The VanGelder surname appeared 1,057 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 VanGelder.

We can also compare 2010 data for VanGelder 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 VanGelder

The surname VANGELDER has its origins in the Netherlands, dating back to the late medieval period. It is derived from the Dutch words "van" meaning "from" and "gelder" referring to the province of Gelderland in the central eastern part of the country. The name likely originated as a locational surname, indicating that the bearer hailed from this region.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Gelderse Leenaktenboeken, a collection of feudal records from Gelderland, which mentions a Jan van Gelder in 1437. This suggests that the surname was already established by the 15th century.

In the 16th century, the town of Nijmegen, located in Gelderland, had several residents bearing the name VANGELDER, including Geert Jansz. VANGELDER, a merchant who lived from around 1520 to 1585. This indicates that the name was relatively widespread in this area during this time period.

The VANGELDER surname also appears in various Dutch church records and civil registrations from the 17th and 18th centuries, often with slight variations in spelling such as "Van Gelder" or "VanGelder." One notable example is Dirck VANGELDER, a Dutch artist born in Haarlem in 1648, who specialized in portraiture and historical paintings.

As the Dutch began to establish colonies and trading outposts around the world, the VANGELDER name spread to other regions. In the late 17th century, Pieter VANGELDER, a Dutch merchant, settled in Batavia (present-day Jakarta, Indonesia), where he became a prominent figure in the Dutch East India Company.

Another notable bearer of the VANGELDER surname was Antonie VANGELDER, a Dutch military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars. Born in 1785 in Arnhem, he rose through the ranks and fought in several major battles before retiring with the rank of lieutenant-colonel in 1823.

During the 19th century, the VANGELDER name could be found among Dutch immigrants to North America and other parts of the world. For instance, Cornelis VANGELDER, born in 1821 in Rotterdam, emigrated to the United States in the 1850s and settled in Michigan, where he worked as a farmer.

Overall, the surname VANGELDER has a long and rich history rooted in the Netherlands, particularly in the province of Gelderland. While its earliest origins remain somewhat obscure, the name has been borne by numerous individuals over the centuries, from merchants and artists to military officers and immigrants seeking new opportunities abroad.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name VanGelder

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

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

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

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