2000
#4,301
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,630
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.83
Rare Last name
Vanwinkle
A Dutch habitational surname referring to someone living near a shop or store at a corner or crossroads.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,550 Americans carry the last name Vanwinkle. That puts it at #4,615 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.49 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 40,088 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vanwinkle 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
8.6K
1 in 40,088
Census rank
#4,615
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,456 bearers of the surname Vanwinkle in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.49 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4615th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanwinkle, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vanwinkle
The surname VANWINKLE has its origins in the Netherlands, tracing back to the 16th century. The name is derived from the Dutch words "van" meaning "from" and "winkel" meaning "shop" or "market stall". It was likely originally used as a descriptive name for someone who lived near or worked at a shop or market.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the VANWINKLE name can be found in the historical records of the Dutch Reformed Church in Amsterdam, where a Cornelius VANWINKLE was baptized in 1587. The name also appears in various Dutch census records and tax rolls from the 17th and 18th centuries, primarily in the provinces of North Holland and South Holland.
As the Dutch began to establish colonies in the Americas in the 17th century, the VANWINKLE name made its way across the Atlantic. One of the earliest known instances of the name in North America is that of Jacobus VANWINKLE, who arrived in New Amsterdam (present-day New York City) in 1654 from the Dutch settlement of Curacao.
In the United States, the VANWINKLE name is often associated with the famous short story "Rip Van Winkle" by Washington Irving, published in 1819. While the story's protagonist is a fictional character, the name VANWINKLE was likely inspired by Dutch settlers in the Hudson Valley region of New York, where Irving grew up.
Notable individuals with the VANWINKLE surname include:
1. Edward VANWINKLE (1808-1875), an American politician who served as the 12th Governor of West Virginia from 1863 to 1869.
2. Isiah VANWINKLE (1759-1839), an American Revolutionary War soldier and pioneer who settled in what is now West Virginia.
3. Gerrit Adriaensz VANWINKLE (1620-1679), a Dutch painter known for his still life and genre paintings.
4. Johannes VANWINKLE (1642-1715), a Dutch goldsmith and engraver who worked in Amsterdam.
5. Rensselaer VANWINKLE (1790-1868), an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Representative from New York.
The VANWINKLE name has also been associated with various place names in the United States, such as Van Winkle Creek in West Virginia and Van Winkle Hollow in New York, likely named after early settlers bearing the surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vanwinkle
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanwinkle, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Vanwinkle 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 Vanwinkle surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.6% · 6,606
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 284
- Two or more races3.6% · 267
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.5% · 185
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 65
- Black or African American0.7% · 49
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vanwinkle
Vanwinkle 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
#4,541
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,811
+181 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 2.65
Rank movement Down 240 places
2020
#4,615
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,456
-355 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 2.49
Rank movement Down 74 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,301 | 7,630 | 2.83 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,541 | 7,811 | 2.65 | +181 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 240 places |
| 2020 | #4,615 | 7,456 | 2.49 | -355 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 74 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 Vanwinkle 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 | #4,541 | #4,615 | -1.6% |
| Count | 7,811 | 7,456 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 2.65 | 2.49 | -5.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vanwinkle bearers went from 7,811 to 7,456 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 74 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,541 to #4,615.
FAQ
Vanwinkle surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vanwinkle?
Name Census estimates that about 8,550 living Americans carry the surname Vanwinkle. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 40,088 residents.
How common is Vanwinkle?
Vanwinkle ranks #4,615 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.49 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 7,456 people with the surname Vanwinkle. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,550), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.49 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.49 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 Vanwinkle.
Has Vanwinkle become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vanwinkle went from 7,811 recorded bearers to 7,456. That is a decrease of 355 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,541 to #4,615.
What does the Census say about the background of Vanwinkle?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vanwinkle, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Vanwinkle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.6% (6,606 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vanwinkle appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.6%), Hispanic (3.8%), Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Vanwinkle (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 Vanwinkle mean?
A Dutch habitational surname referring to someone living near a shop or store at a corner or crossroads. 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 Vanwinkle (2.49 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 Vanwinkle?
You can see how many people have the surname Vanwinkle on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.