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

VanLiew, 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 VanLiew surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of VanLiew in America

VanLiew is the 33450th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The VanLiew surname appeared 682 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 VanLiew.

We can also compare 2010 data for VanLiew 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 VanLiew

The surname VANLIEW originated in the Netherlands during the 16th century. It is derived from the Dutch words "van" meaning "from" and "liew" meaning "shelter" or "refuge". This combination suggests the name referred to someone who lived near or came from a place of shelter or refuge.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in Dutch records and manuscripts from the 1500s. One notable example is Johannes van Liew, a merchant from Amsterdam born in 1572. Another early bearer was Willem van Liew, a farmer from Leiden born in 1588.

As Dutch settlers began emigrating to the New World in the 17th century, the name traveled with them. One of the first recorded instances in America was Pieter van Liew, who arrived in New Amsterdam (now New York City) in 1638. He later anglicized his name to Peter Vanliew.

The name also appears in early colonial records in other parts of America. For example, Jacob Vanliew was listed as a landowner in Pennsylvania in 1683. In 1692, Johannes Vanliew was recorded as a resident of Albany, New York.

Some notable bearers of the surname throughout history include:

1. Jan van Liew (1609-1672), a Dutch sailor and explorer who accompanied Henry Hudson on his voyages.

2. Hendrick Vanliew (1725-1798), an American Revolutionary War soldier from New Jersey.

3. Mary Vanliew (1767-1841), an early American settler in Ohio, one of the first white women to live in the area.

4. Robert Vanliew (1856-1934), an American businessman and philanthropist from California.

5. William Vanliew (1892-1976), an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from New Jersey.

While originally Dutch, the name spread across Europe and America, with various spellings like Van Liew, Van Lieu, and Vanlue emerging over time. Some of these spellings may have been influenced by place names or regions where bearers of the name settled.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name VanLiew

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!