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

VanSkiver, 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 VanSkiver surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of VanSkiver in America

VanSkiver is the 40082nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The VanSkiver surname appeared 547 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 VanSkiver.

We can also compare 2010 data for VanSkiver 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 VanSkiver

The surname VANSKIVER is believed to have originated in the Netherlands during the 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the Dutch words "van" meaning "from" and "skiver" which was an occupational term referring to someone who split or carved wooden shingles or shakes for roofing.

The earliest known recorded instances of the surname date back to the late 1500s in various Dutch municipal records and church registers from towns and villages in the provinces of Utrecht and Gelderland. Variations in the spelling included Vanskyver, Vanskyfer, and Vanschiever.

One of the earliest documented individuals with this surname was Jan Willemszoon VANSKIVER, a shingle maker born around 1570 in the town of Culemborg, Gelderland. Records show he married Grietje Jansdr in 1595 and had several children who carried on the VANSKIVER name.

In the 17th century, the surname began appearing in records from other parts of the Netherlands as well as German territories along the Rhine. It is believed some VANSKIVER families emigrated from the Low Countries to these areas during this time. A notable bearer was Hendrick VANSKIVER (1622-1698), a wealthy merchant and alderman in the city of Cologne.

As the name spread, variations like FANSKIFER emerged in areas of modern-day Belgium. One early bearer from this region was Pierre FANSKIFER (1651-1723), a farmer and landowner from the village of Grez-Doiceau near Brussels.

In the late 18th century, several VANSKIVER individuals are recorded as immigrating to the British colonies in North America. Johannes VANSKIVER (1758-1832) settled in Pennsylvania after serving as a Hessian soldier during the American Revolutionary War. His descendant, William VANSKIVER (1805-1891), was one of the earliest settlers in what became Calhoun County, Michigan.

Other notable bearers include Dutch artist Dirk VANSKIVER (1793-1857), known for his pastoral landscape paintings, and Belgian poet and novelist Charles VANSKIVER (1841-1915), a leading figure in the Flemish literary renaissance of the 19th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name VanSkiver

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of VanSkiver, 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!