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

VanWyk, 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 VanWyk surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of VanWyk in America

VanWyk is the 15183rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The VanWyk surname appeared 1,940 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname VanWyk.

We can also compare 2010 data for VanWyk 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 VanWyk

The surname VanWyk has its origins in the Netherlands, with the earliest recorded examples dating back to the 16th century. It is a locational surname, derived from the Dutch words "van" meaning "from" and "wijk" meaning "dwelling" or "village." Thus, the name likely referred to someone who hailed from a particular village or settlement.

One of the earliest documented references to the name can be found in the records of the Dutch Reformed Church in Leiden, where a certain Pieter Janszoon VanWyk was listed as a member in 1587. This suggests that the name was already established in the region by the late 16th century.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, as Dutch exploration and colonization expanded across the globe, the VanWyk surname began to appear in various Dutch settlements and colonies. Notable individuals bearing this name include:

1. Jan VanWyk (1625-1689), a Dutch settler in the Cape Colony (present-day South Africa), who arrived in 1658 and became a prominent landowner and farmer.

2. Gerrit VanWyk (1655-1723), a Dutch colonist in New Netherland (present-day New York), who was among the early settlers of Flatbush, Long Island.

3. Pieter VanWyk (1714-1783), a Dutch explorer and navigator who accompanied several expeditions to the East Indies and made significant contributions to the mapping of the Indonesian archipelago.

4. Cornelis VanWyk (1768-1832), a Dutch-born South African farmer and landowner, who played a prominent role in the early settlement of the Eastern Cape region.

5. Hendrik VanWyk (1812-1878), a South African politician and military leader, who served as the first President of the Orange Free State from 1854 to 1859.

The surname VanWyk has also been associated with various place names throughout the Netherlands and its former colonies. For instance, the town of Wijk aan Zee in the Netherlands, as well as the Wyk River in South Africa's Western Cape province, are believed to have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.

While the VanWyk name has its roots in the Netherlands, it has since become widespread across various parts of the world, particularly in South Africa, where it remains a common Afrikaner surname to this day.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name VanWyk

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of VanWyk, please contact us.

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