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

Vater, 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 Vater surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Vater in America

Vater is the 37076th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Vater surname appeared 602 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 Vater.

We can also compare 2010 data for Vater 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 Vater

The surname Vater originated in Germany, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German word "Vater," meaning "father." This name was likely given as a nickname or occupational name to someone who played a paternal or fatherly role in their community.

The earliest known record of the name Vater can be found in the Deutsches Namenbuch, a compilation of German surnames and their origins, published in the late 19th century. The name is mentioned in reference to a Johann Vater, who lived in the town of Schmalkalden, in present-day Thuringia, Germany, in the 15th century.

One notable historical figure with the surname Vater was Johann Severin Vater (1771-1826), a German philologist and orientalist. He was a professor at the University of Halle and made significant contributions to the study of comparative linguistics, particularly in the field of Indo-European languages.

Another individual of historical significance was Christian Vater (1651-1732), a German architect and builder. He was responsible for the construction of several notable buildings in the city of Dresden, including the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady), which was severely damaged during World War II but has since been reconstructed.

In the realm of literature, Johann Christian Vater (1711-1798) was a German theologian and writer. He authored several religious works and served as the pastor of the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, where Johann Sebastian Bach had previously been the music director.

Moving to the field of science, Abraham Vater (1684-1751) was a German anatomist and surgeon. He made significant contributions to the study of the human body and published a treatise on the anatomy of the pancreas, which is now known as the "Vater's ampulla" in his honor.

Finally, a more recent figure was Joachim Vater (1891-1981), a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). He served as the Minister-President of Saxony-Anhalt from 1949 to 1952.

While the name Vater has its roots in Germany, it has also spread to other parts of the world due to migration and cultural exchanges over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Vater

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

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

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

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