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

vanZyl, 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 vanZyl surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of vanZyl in America

vanZyl is the 48256th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The vanZyl surname appeared 438 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 vanZyl.

The history of the last name vanZyl

The surname VANZYL has its origins in the Dutch language and can be traced back to the Netherlands in the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Dutch words "van" meaning "from" and "zyl" referring to a specific town or region. The earliest known spelling of the name was "Van Zyl," which was later anglicized to its current form.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name VANZYL appears in a Dutch census record from 1587, which lists a family with the surname residing in the city of Amsterdam. This suggests that the name may have originated in or around the Amsterdam area before spreading to other parts of the Netherlands and eventually beyond.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, several notable individuals bore the surname VANZYL. In 1642, a merchant named Pieter VANZYL was listed in the records of the Dutch East India Company, indicating his involvement in the lucrative spice trade. Another prominent figure, Johannes VANZYL (1676-1743), was a renowned Dutch theologian and author who published several influential works on religious philosophy.

As the Dutch colonial empire expanded, the name VANZYL began to appear in various overseas territories. In 1792, a landowner named Willem VANZYL was recorded in the Cape Colony (present-day South Africa), suggesting that some individuals with the surname had migrated to the Dutch colonies in Africa.

One of the most famous individuals with the surname VANZYL was Jacob VANZYL (1804-1879), a South African politician and lawyer who played a significant role in the early development of the Cape Colony's legal system. He was instrumental in drafting several key laws and served as the Attorney-General of the colony for several years.

Another notable figure with the VANZYL surname was Gerrit VANZYL (1891-1957), a South African poet and writer who was part of the Second Afrikaans Language Movement. His works, which explored themes of Afrikaner identity and culture, were highly influential in the early 20th century.

In more recent times, the name VANZYL has been carried by several prominent individuals, such as the South African cricketer Roelof VANZYL (born 1963) and the Dutch artist Gerrit VANZYL (1932-2014), known for his abstract expressionist paintings.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name vanZyl

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

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 vanZyl 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.

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

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

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