2000
#13,731
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,024
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.75
Rare Last name
Vanpatten
Derived from Dutch "van Putten," referring to someone from the town of Putten in the Netherlands.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,322 Americans carry the last name Vanpatten. That puts it at #14,233 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.68 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 147,612 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vanpatten 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
2.3K
1 in 147,612
Census rank
#14,233
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,025 bearers of the surname Vanpatten in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.68 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14233rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanpatten, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vanpatten
The surname VANPATTEN has its origins in the Netherlands, dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the Dutch words "van" meaning "from" and "patten" referring to a low-lying, marshy area or a path through such terrain. The name likely originated as a descriptive surname for someone who lived near or owned land in a marshy region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname VANPATTEN can be found in the Dutch church records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New Amsterdam (present-day New York City) in the mid-17th century. This suggests that the name was brought to the American colonies by early Dutch settlers.
In the late 17th century, the VANPATTEN surname appeared in the records of the Dutch Reformed Church in Kingston, New York, indicating the family's presence in the Hudson Valley region. The spelling variations included Van Patten, Van Petten, and Van Paten.
During the 18th century, the VANPATTEN family continued to spread across New York and into neighboring states. Notable individuals with this surname include Jacob VANPATTEN (1738-1811), a Revolutionary War soldier from New York, and John VANPATTEN (1778-1860), a prominent judge and landowner in Ohio.
In the 19th century, the VANPATTEN name gained further recognition with individuals like Elijah VANPATTEN (1813-1891), a successful businessman and politician in Indiana, and William J. VANPATTEN (1837-1904), a renowned author and educator from New York.
Another notable figure was Isaac VANPATTEN (1804-1879), a pioneer settler and landowner in Michigan, who established the town of VanPatten in Cass County, which was later renamed Marcellus.
As the VANPATTEN family spread across the United States, the name has been associated with various occupations and achievements, from military service to politics, business, and literature.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vanpatten
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanpatten, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Vanpatten 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 Vanpatten surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.1% · 1,824
- Two or more races4.0% · 82
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 76
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 13
- Black or African American0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vanpatten
Vanpatten 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
#14,096
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,132
+108 bearers (+5.3%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Down 365 places
2020
#14,233
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,025
-107 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.68
Rank movement Down 137 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,731 | 2,024 | 0.75 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,096 | 2,132 | 0.72 | +108 bearers (+5.3%) | Down 365 places |
| 2020 | #14,233 | 2,025 | 0.68 | -107 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 137 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 Vanpatten 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 | #14,096 | #14,233 | -1.0% |
| Count | 2,132 | 2,025 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.72 | 0.68 | -5.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vanpatten bearers went from 2,132 to 2,025 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 137 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,096 to #14,233.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Vanpatten
FAQ
Vanpatten surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vanpatten?
Name Census estimates that about 2,322 living Americans carry the surname Vanpatten. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 147,612 residents.
How common is Vanpatten?
Vanpatten ranks #14,233 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.68 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 2,025 people with the surname Vanpatten. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,322), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.68 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.68 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 Vanpatten.
Has Vanpatten become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vanpatten went from 2,132 recorded bearers to 2,025. That is a decrease of 107 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,096 to #14,233.
What does the Census say about the background of Vanpatten?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanpatten, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Vanpatten in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.1% (1,824 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vanpatten appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.1%), Two or More Races (4.0%), Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Vanpatten (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 Vanpatten mean?
Derived from Dutch "van Putten," referring to someone from the town of Putten in the Netherlands. 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 Vanpatten (0.68 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 Vanpatten?
Want to know how common the surname Vanpatten is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.