2000
#9,853
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,026
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.12
Rare Last name
Vassar
Derived from a place name meaning "fishing weir" in Old French, likely referring to someone living near a fishing weir.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,332 Americans carry the last name Vassar. That puts it at #10,529 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.97 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 102,867 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vassar 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
3.3K
1 in 102,867
Census rank
#10,529
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,906 bearers of the surname Vassar in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.97 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10529th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vassar, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.9%. The next largest groups are Black (16.8%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vassar
Among Census respondents with the surname Vassar, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.9%. The next largest groups are Black (16.8%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Vassar 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 Vassar surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.9% · 2,147
- Black or African American16.8% · 487
- Two or more races4.3% · 126
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 95
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 34
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vassar
Vassar 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
#10,306
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,126
+100 bearers (+3.3%)
Per 100,000 1.06
Rank movement Down 453 places
2020
#10,529
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,906
-220 bearers (-7.0%)
Per 100,000 0.97
Rank movement Down 223 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,853 | 3,026 | 1.12 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,306 | 3,126 | 1.06 | +100 bearers (+3.3%) | Down 453 places |
| 2020 | #10,529 | 2,906 | 0.97 | -220 bearers (-7.0%) | Down 223 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 Vassar 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 | #10,306 | #10,529 | -2.2% |
| Count | 3,126 | 2,906 | -7.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.06 | 0.97 | -8.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vassar bearers went from 3,126 to 2,906 (-7.0% change). The surname moved down 223 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,306 to #10,529.
FAQ
Vassar surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vassar?
Name Census estimates that about 3,332 living Americans carry the surname Vassar. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 102,867 residents.
How common is Vassar?
Vassar ranks #10,529 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.97 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,906 people with the surname Vassar. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,332), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.97 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.97 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Vassar.
Has Vassar become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vassar went from 3,126 recorded bearers to 2,906. That is a decrease of 220 (-7.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,306 to #10,529.
What does the Census say about the background of Vassar?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vassar, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.9%. The next largest groups are Black (16.8%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Vassar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.9% (2,147 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vassar appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (73.9%), Black (16.8%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Vassar (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 Vassar mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "fishing weir" in Old French, likely referring to someone living near a fishing weir. 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 Vassar (0.97 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 many people have the surname Vassar?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.