2000
#5,135
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,270
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.32
Rare Last name
Vanpelt
Dutch occupational surname referring to a furrier or pelt trader.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,404 Americans carry the last name Vanpelt. That puts it at #5,224 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.16 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 46,293 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vanpelt 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
7.4K
1 in 46,293
Census rank
#5,224
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,457 bearers of the surname Vanpelt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.16 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5224th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanpelt, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.7%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vanpelt
The surname VANPELT originated in the Netherlands during the Middle Ages. It is a derived form of the Dutch van de pelt, which translates to "from the fur" or "from the pelt." The name likely referred to an occupation or trade involving pelts or fur, such as a furrier or a fur trader.
In its earliest recorded instances, the name appeared in various spellings, including van de Pelte, van der Pelt, and van Pelt. These spellings can be found in historical documents and records from the 15th and 16th centuries in the Netherlands.
One of the earliest known individuals bearing this surname was Pieter van Pelt, a merchant from Amsterdam who lived in the late 16th century. Another notable figure was Jan van Pelt, a Dutch painter who was active in the early 17th century and was known for his landscape paintings.
The name VANPELT also has ties to geographical locations in the Netherlands. For instance, there is a village called Pelt in the province of Limburg, which may have contributed to the origin of the surname.
As the name spread beyond the Netherlands, it was carried by Dutch settlers and immigrants to other parts of the world. One notable bearer of the name was Jochem van Pelt, a Dutch colonist who settled in New Netherland (present-day New York) in the mid-17th century and became one of the earliest landowners in what is now Brooklyn.
In the United States, a prominent figure with the VANPELT surname was Samuel G. VanPelt (1833-1905), a Union Army officer during the American Civil War who later served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.
Another noteworthy individual was Robert F. VanPelt (1888-1957), an American educator and author who served as the president of Michigan State College (now Michigan State University) from 1945 to 1953.
In the arts, Francis VanPelt (1864-1939) was a Dutch-American artist and illustrator known for his work in magazines and children's books in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have borne the VANPELT surname throughout history, showcasing its Dutch origins and its presence in various parts of the world over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vanpelt
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanpelt, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.7%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Vanpelt 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 Vanpelt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.7% · 5,531
- Black or African American5.0% · 323
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 223
- Two or more races3.1% · 203
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 127
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 50
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vanpelt
Vanpelt 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
#5,222
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,685
+415 bearers (+6.6%)
Per 100,000 2.27
Rank movement Down 87 places
2020
#5,224
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,457
-228 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 2.16
Rank movement Down 2 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,135 | 6,270 | 2.32 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,222 | 6,685 | 2.27 | +415 bearers (+6.6%) | Down 87 places |
| 2020 | #5,224 | 6,457 | 2.16 | -228 bearers (-3.4%) | Down 2 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 Vanpelt 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 | #5,222 | #5,224 | -0.0% |
| Count | 6,685 | 6,457 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.27 | 2.16 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vanpelt bearers went from 6,685 to 6,457 (-3.4% change). The surname moved down 2 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,222 to #5,224.
FAQ
Vanpelt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vanpelt?
Name Census estimates that about 7,404 living Americans carry the surname Vanpelt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 46,293 residents.
How common is Vanpelt?
Vanpelt ranks #5,224 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.16 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,457 people with the surname Vanpelt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,404), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.16 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.16 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Vanpelt.
Has Vanpelt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vanpelt went from 6,685 recorded bearers to 6,457. That is a decrease of 228 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,222 to #5,224.
What does the Census say about the background of Vanpelt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanpelt, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.7%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Vanpelt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.7% (5,531 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vanpelt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.7%), Black (5.0%), Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Vanpelt (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 Vanpelt mean?
Dutch occupational surname referring to a furrier or pelt trader. 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 Vanpelt (2.16 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 Vanpelt?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.