2000
#146,011
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Vaxter
A variant spelling of the English surname Baxter, derived from an occupational name for a baker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Vaxter. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vaxter 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Vaxter in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vaxter, the largest self-reported group is Black at 77.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.2%) and White (8.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vaxter
The surname Vaxter has its origins in the Netherlands, dating back to the late 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Dutch word "vachter," meaning a herdsman or a keeper of cattle. The name likely originated in the rural areas of the Netherlands, where cattle farming was a prominent occupation.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Vaxter can be found in the Dutch village of Bredevoort, where a family by the name of Vachter resided in the late 1500s. Over time, the spelling evolved to Vaxter, possibly due to regional variations in pronunciation and record-keeping practices.
In the 17th century, the name Vaxter appeared in various Dutch records, including church registers and land deeds. One notable example is Johannes Vaxter, a farmer from the town of Gorinchem, who was born in 1625 and passed away in 1698.
As the Dutch colonized parts of the Americas in the 17th and 18th centuries, some individuals with the surname Vaxter migrated to the New World. One such person was Pieter Vaxter, who settled in New Amsterdam (now known as New York City) in the late 1600s and became a successful trader.
In the 19th century, the Vaxter family had spread across various parts of Europe and the Americas. One notable figure was Willem Vaxter, a Dutch naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars and was born in 1785 and died in 1857.
Another notable individual with the surname Vaxter was Johanna Vaxter, a Dutch artist and painter who lived in the early 20th century. She was born in 1878 and passed away in 1942, leaving behind a significant body of work that captures the landscapes and daily life of the Netherlands.
While the name Vaxter is not as common today as it once was, it remains a part of the cultural heritage of the Netherlands and reflects the country's rich history of cattle farming and rural life.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vaxter
Among Census respondents with the surname Vaxter, the largest self-reported group is Black at 77.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.2%) and White (8.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Vaxter 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 Vaxter surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American77.5% · 93
- Two or more races9.2% · 11
- White8.3% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vaxter
Vaxter 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
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
+4 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,521 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+12 bearers (+11.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 9,483 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #146,011 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 5,521 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | +12 bearers (+11.1%) | Up 9,483 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 Vaxter 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 | #151,532 | #142,049 | 6.3% |
| Count | 108 | 120 | 11.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vaxter bearers went from 108 to 120 (+11.1% change). The surname moved up 9,483 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #142,049.
FAQ
Vaxter surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vaxter?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Vaxter. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Vaxter?
Vaxter ranks #142,049 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 120 people with the surname Vaxter. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Vaxter.
Has Vaxter become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vaxter went from 108 recorded bearers to 120. That is an increase of 12 (+11.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #151,532 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Vaxter?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vaxter, the largest self-reported group is Black at 77.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.2%) and White (8.3%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Vaxter in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.5% (93 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vaxter appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (77.5%), Two or More Races (9.2%), White (8.3%). 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 Vaxter (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 Vaxter mean?
A variant spelling of the English surname Baxter, derived from an occupational name for a baker. 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 Vaxter (0.04 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 Vaxter?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.