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

Vassar, 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 Vassar surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Vassar in America

Vassar is the 10306th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Vassar surname appeared 3,126 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 Vassar.

We can also compare 2010 data for Vassar 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 Vassar

The surname Vassar is believed to have originated in the medieval county of Hertfordshire, England, sometime in the 12th or 13th century. It is derived from the Old English words "fæster" meaning "an outlying farm or dwelling" and "rah" meaning "a rough road or track." The name was likely given to someone who lived on a farm situated along a rough road or path.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Vassar name can be found in the Feet of Fines records for Hertfordshire in 1242, which refer to a "William de Vasthera." This suggests the name may have initially been spelled as Vasthera or a similar variation before evolving into its more modern form.

The Vassar surname is also linked to the village of Watton-at-Stone in Hertfordshire, which was once known as "Watton atte Vassour" or "Watton at the Vassar" in reference to a local landowner or prominent family with that name. This connection to a specific place reinforces the theory that the name originated as a descriptive reference to someone's dwelling or property.

In the 14th century, a John Vassar is recorded as being a member of the Guild of Corpus Christi in York, suggesting the name had spread from its Hertfordshire origins to other parts of England by that time. The Vassar family was also present in the county of Essex, where a Thomas Vassar was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of 1524.

Perhaps the most famous bearer of the Vassar name was Matthew Vassar (1792-1868), the wealthy brewer and philanthropist from Poughkeepsie, New York, who founded the prestigious Vassar College in 1861. His ancestors were among the early English settlers of the Netherlands and later immigrated to the American colonies in the 17th century.

Other notable individuals with the Vassar surname include:

1. John Vassar (1633-1714), an English merchant and landowner who was one of the first settlers of Poughkeepsie, New York, and an ancestor of Matthew Vassar.

2. James Vassar (1805-1869), an American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded the Vassar Brothers Hospital in Poughkeepsie.

3. Lewis Vassar (1789-1869), an American lawyer and politician who served as the Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1839 to 1842.

4. John Vassar (1635-1703), an English landowner and merchant who was among the early settlers of the Colony of Virginia in the late 17th century.

5. Elizabeth Vassar (1881-1963), an American artist and illustrator known for her paintings depicting scenes from rural New England life.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Vassar

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

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

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

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