2000
#8,806
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,425
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.27
Rare Last name
Vanhook
A Dutch toponymic surname indicating an ancestor who lived near a corner or sharp bend in a river.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,028 Americans carry the last name Vanhook. That puts it at #8,936 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.18 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 85,093 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vanhook 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
4.0K
1 in 85,093
Census rank
#8,936
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,513 bearers of the surname Vanhook in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.18 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8936th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanhook, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.1%. The next largest groups are Black (18.7%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vanhook
The surname VANHOOK is of Dutch origin, originating from the Netherlands in the 16th century. The name is derived from the Old Dutch words "van" meaning "from" and "hoek" meaning "corner" or "angle". This suggests that the name may have referred to someone who lived in a particular corner or angled area of a town or village.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name VANHOOK can be found in the Dutch city of Middelburg in the year 1587, where a man named Pieter VANHOOK is mentioned in a local census record. The name also appears in various other Dutch records from the 16th and 17th centuries, with variations in spelling such as "Van Hoeck" and "Van Hooke".
During the 17th century, the name VANHOOK began to spread beyond the Netherlands as Dutch settlers and traders ventured to other parts of the world. In 1642, a man named Jan VANHOOK is recorded as being one of the first Dutch settlers in the Cape Colony, which is now part of South Africa.
In the late 17th century, the name VANHOOK also made its way to the American colonies, where it was anglicized to its current spelling. One of the earliest known bearers of the name in America was Cornelis VANHOOK, who was born in the Netherlands around 1650 and later settled in New York.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the VANHOOK name can be found in various historical records and documents across Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Notable individuals with this surname include:
1. Pieter VANHOOK (1567-1638), a Dutch merchant and explorer who was one of the first Europeans to establish trade relations with Japan.
2. Johannes VANHOOK (1712-1789), a Dutch-born soldier who fought in the British Army during the American Revolutionary War.
3. Elizabeth VANHOOK (1788-1863), an American pioneer and early settler in the state of Indiana.
4. Hendrik VANHOOK (1823-1901), a Dutch-born artist and painter who was known for his landscape paintings of the Netherlands.
5. William VANHOOK (1861-1932), an American politician and lawyer who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from West Virginia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vanhook
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanhook, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.1%. The next largest groups are Black (18.7%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Vanhook 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 Vanhook surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.1% · 2,533
- Black or African American18.7% · 658
- Two or more races4.4% · 155
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 112
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 24
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vanhook
Vanhook 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
#8,802
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,720
+295 bearers (+8.6%)
Per 100,000 1.26
Rank movement Up 4 places
2020
#8,936
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,513
-207 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 1.18
Rank movement Down 134 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,806 | 3,425 | 1.27 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,802 | 3,720 | 1.26 | +295 bearers (+8.6%) | Up 4 places |
| 2020 | #8,936 | 3,513 | 1.18 | -207 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 134 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 Vanhook 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 | #8,802 | #8,936 | -1.5% |
| Count | 3,720 | 3,513 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.26 | 1.18 | -6.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vanhook bearers went from 3,720 to 3,513 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 134 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,802 to #8,936.
FAQ
Vanhook surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vanhook?
Name Census estimates that about 4,028 living Americans carry the surname Vanhook. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 85,093 residents.
How common is Vanhook?
Vanhook ranks #8,936 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.18 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 3,513 people with the surname Vanhook. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,028), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.18 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.18 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 Vanhook.
Has Vanhook become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vanhook went from 3,720 recorded bearers to 3,513. That is a decrease of 207 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,802 to #8,936.
What does the Census say about the background of Vanhook?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanhook, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.1%. The next largest groups are Black (18.7%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Vanhook in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.1% (2,533 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vanhook appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.1%), Black (18.7%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Vanhook (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 Vanhook mean?
A Dutch toponymic surname indicating an ancestor who lived near a corner or sharp bend in a river. 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 Vanhook (1.18 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 Americans have the surname Vanhook?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.