Vanzant last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Vanzant

An occupational surname referring to a wagon driver or a cart maker, derived from the Dutch term "Van Zandt".

Vanzant, 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 Vanzant surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Vanzant in America

Vanzant is the 9698th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Vanzant surname appeared 3,345 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 Vanzant.

We can also compare 2010 data for Vanzant 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 9698 9467 2.41%
Count 3,345 3,151 5.97%
Proportion per 100k 1.13 1.17 -3.48%

The history of the last name Vanzant

The surname VANZANT has its origins in the Netherlands and is a locational name derived from the Dutch place name van Zandt or van Zante. This place name is believed to have referred to a sandy area or region, with "zant" meaning sand in Dutch.

The earliest recorded instances of the VANZANT surname date back to the 16th century in the Netherlands. It is believed to have originated in the coastal regions of the country, where sandy soil and dunes were prevalent. The name may have initially been given as a descriptive term for someone who lived in or came from a sandy area.

In the early 17th century, the VANZANT name appears in Dutch colonial records from the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia). This suggests that individuals bearing this surname were among the early Dutch settlers and traders in the region.

One of the earliest known bearers of the VANZANT surname was Willem van Zant, a Dutch merchant and explorer who was active in the Dutch East Indies in the early 1600s. He is mentioned in several Dutch colonial records from that period.

Another notable figure with the VANZANT name was Pieter van Zant, a Dutch naval officer and commander who served in the Dutch East India Company in the late 17th century. He was involved in several military campaigns and naval battles in the region.

In the 18th century, the VANZANT surname appears in records from the Dutch colony of Suriname in South America. This indicates that some individuals bearing this name had migrated to the Americas as part of the Dutch colonial expansion.

As the Dutch emigrated to other parts of the world, the VANZANT surname spread to different countries and regions. In the 19th century, there are records of individuals with the VANZANT name in the United States, particularly in areas with significant Dutch settlements, such as New York and New Jersey.

One notable American figure with the VANZANT surname was John VanZant, a politician and lawyer from Ohio who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1873 to 1877.

Overall, the surname VANZANT has a rich history and heritage, originating in the Netherlands and spreading across the globe through Dutch colonial expansion and immigration.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Vanzant

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

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 Vanzant was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 79.19% 2,649
Non-Hispanic Black Only 14.20% 475
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.27% 9
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.84% 28
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.81% 94
Hispanic Origin 2.69% 90

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 Vanzant has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 79.19% 81.28% -2.60%
Black 14.20% 14.38% -1.26%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.27% 0.32% -16.95%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.84% 1.02% -19.35%
Two or More Races 2.81% 1.59% 55.45%
Hispanic 2.69% 1.43% 61.17%

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

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

Reference this page

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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!

"Vanzant last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/vanzant-surname-popularity/.

"Vanzant last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/vanzant-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 December, 2024

Vanzant last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/vanzant-surname-popularity/.

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