2000
#11,583
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,487
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.92
Rare Last name
Veit
Derived from a pet form of the personal name Vitus, likely referring to a cheerful or lively person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,668 Americans carry the last name Veit. That puts it at #12,671 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.78 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 128,469 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Veit 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
2.7K
1 in 128,469
Census rank
#12,671
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,327 bearers of the surname Veit in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.78 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12671st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Veit, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Veit
The surname Veit originated in Germany, where it can be traced back to the 13th century. It is derived from the German personal name "Veit," which is a variant of the Latin name "Vitus." The name Vitus comes from the Latin word "vivatus," meaning "life" or "lively."
In its early days, the name Veit was primarily concentrated in the regions of Bavaria and Austria. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in a manuscript from the city of Augsburg, dated 1287, which mentions a person named "Veitlin der Leinenweber" (Veitlin the linen weaver).
The Veit surname gained prominence in the 14th and 15th centuries, as evidenced by its appearance in various historical records. For instance, the Domesday Book of 1086 includes an entry for a landowner named "Vitalis de Veit" in the county of Somerset, England.
One of the earliest notable bearers of the Veit surname was the German painter and printmaker Philipp Veit (1793-1877), who was a leading figure in the Nazarene movement of the 19th century. Another prominent individual with this surname was the German philosopher and theologian Johann Veit (1585-1622), who was a professor at the University of Wittenberg.
In the realm of literature, the Austrian writer and playwright Franz Veit (1812-1894) is remembered for his contributions to the genre of Viennese folk plays. Additionally, the German historian and archaeologist Ludwig Veit (1854-1928) made significant contributions to the study of ancient Roman history and culture.
Another notable bearer of the Veit surname was the German-American artist and architect Walter Veit (1858-1925), who played a crucial role in the design and construction of several notable buildings in New York City, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Museum.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Veit
Among Census respondents with the surname Veit, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Veit 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 Veit surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.2% · 2,098
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 92
- Two or more races2.6% · 61
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 31
- Black or African American1.0% · 24
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 21
Timeline
Historical Census data for Veit
Veit 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
#12,496
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,481
-6 bearers (-0.2%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Down 913 places
2020
#12,671
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,327
-154 bearers (-6.2%)
Per 100,000 0.78
Rank movement Down 175 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,583 | 2,487 | 0.92 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,496 | 2,481 | 0.84 | -6 bearers (-0.2%) | Down 913 places |
| 2020 | #12,671 | 2,327 | 0.78 | -154 bearers (-6.2%) | Down 175 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 Veit 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 | #12,496 | #12,671 | -1.4% |
| Count | 2,481 | 2,327 | -6.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.84 | 0.78 | -7.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Veit bearers went from 2,481 to 2,327 (-6.2% change). The surname moved down 175 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,496 to #12,671.
FAQ
Veit surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Veit?
Name Census estimates that about 2,668 living Americans carry the surname Veit. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 128,469 residents.
How common is Veit?
Veit ranks #12,671 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.78 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 2,327 people with the surname Veit. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,668), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.78 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.78 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 Veit.
Has Veit become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Veit went from 2,481 recorded bearers to 2,327. That is a decrease of 154 (-6.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,496 to #12,671.
What does the Census say about the background of Veit?
Among Census respondents with the surname Veit, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Veit in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.2% (2,098 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Veit appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.2%), Hispanic (4.0%), Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Veit (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 Veit mean?
Derived from a pet form of the personal name Vitus, likely referring to a cheerful or lively person. 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 Veit (0.78 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 Americans have the surname Veit?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.