2000
#136,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Vanrens
A Dutch surname meaning "from Rens" or "from Rennes".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130 Americans carry the last name Vanrens. That puts it at #147,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,636,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vanrens 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
130
1 in 2,636,572
Census rank
#147,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
113
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 113 bearers of the surname Vanrens in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanrens, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.9%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vanrens
The surname VANRENS has its origins in the Netherlands, dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Dutch word "van," meaning "from," and "rens," which was an old Dutch word referring to a small stream or creek. This suggests that the name may have originally been used to identify someone who lived near a small body of water.
In the early 1600s, the name VANRENS appeared in several historical records and manuscripts from the province of Friesland in the northern Netherlands. One of the earliest recorded instances was in a land deed from 1612, where a farmer named Sijbren VANRENS was listed as the owner of a parcel of land near the village of Leeuwarden.
Another notable mention of the name VANRENS can be found in the baptismal records of the Dutch Reformed Church in the city of Groningen, where a child named Antje VANRENS was baptized in 1678. This suggests that the name had spread beyond its initial origins in Friesland by the late 17th century.
The earliest known bearer of the VANRENS surname was Pieter VANRENS, who was born in the town of Harlingen, Friesland, in 1575. He was a prosperous merchant and ship owner, and his descendants continued to be influential members of the local community for several generations.
In the 18th century, a man named Dirk VANRENS (1726-1798) gained prominence as a respected lawyer and legal scholar in the city of Leeuwarden. His extensive collection of legal manuscripts and treatises is still preserved in the archives of the University of Groningen.
Another notable figure with the VANRENS surname was Bauke VANRENS (1789-1867), a renowned painter from the town of Workum in Friesland. His landscapes and seascapes are highly regarded and can be found in several museums across the Netherlands.
During the 19th century, the VANRENS name began to spread beyond the Netherlands as some members of the family emigrated to other parts of the world. In 1842, a man named Pieter VANRENS (1812-1887) settled in South Africa, where he established a successful farming operation in the Eastern Cape region.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the VANRENS surname was in the 1870 census, which listed a family headed by Gerrit VANRENS (1835-1912), a Dutch immigrant who had settled in the state of Michigan.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vanrens
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanrens, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.9%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Vanrens 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 Vanrens surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.2% · 111
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vanrens
Vanrens 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
#127,494
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 134
+21 bearers (+18.6%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 9,289 places
2020
#147,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-21 bearers (-15.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 19,727 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #136,783 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #127,494 | 134 | 0.05 | +21 bearers (+18.6%) | Up 9,289 places |
| 2020 | #147,221 | 113 | 0.04 | -21 bearers (-15.7%) | Down 19,727 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 Vanrens 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 | #127,494 | #147,221 | -15.5% |
| Count | 134 | 113 | -15.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -24.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vanrens bearers went from 134 to 113 (-15.7% change). The surname moved down 19,727 positions in the national ranking, going from #127,494 to #147,221.
FAQ
Vanrens surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vanrens?
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the surname Vanrens. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,636,572 residents.
How common is Vanrens?
Vanrens ranks #147,221 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 113 people with the surname Vanrens. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (130), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Vanrens.
Has Vanrens become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vanrens went from 134 recorded bearers to 113. That is a decrease of 21 (-15.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #127,494 to #147,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Vanrens?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanrens, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.9%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Vanrens in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.2% (111 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vanrens appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.2%), Hispanic (0.9%), Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Vanrens (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 Vanrens mean?
A Dutch surname meaning "from Rens" or "from Rennes". 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 Vanrens (0.04 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 Vanrens?
You can see how many people have the last name Vanrens on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.