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

Verhelst, 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 Verhelst surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Verhelst in America

Verhelst is the 56588th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Verhelst surname appeared 361 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 Verhelst.

We can also compare 2010 data for Verhelst 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 Verhelst

The surname Verhelst originated in the Netherlands and Belgium, where it was initially derived from the Dutch words "ver" meaning "far" and "helst" meaning "inclination" or "preference." This combination suggests that the name may have referred to someone who lived far away or had a preference for a distant location.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Verhelst can be traced back to the 14th century in various Dutch and Flemish historical records. It appears in the Gouden Eeuw, a period of Dutch prosperity and cultural prominence in the 17th century, when many Verhelsts were documented as successful merchants, artists, and academics.

One notable figure with this surname is Rembert Verhelst, a 16th-century Flemish painter known for his religious works and portraits. Another is Jan Baptist Verhelst, a 19th-century Belgian sculptor who created numerous public monuments and statues across Europe.

In the late 18th century, variations of the name Verhelst appeared in records from the Low Countries, such as Verheist, Verhilst, and Verheyst. These variations likely arose due to regional dialect differences and phonetic adaptations of the original surname.

The name Verhelst has also been associated with several place names in the Netherlands and Belgium, including the town of Helst in the province of Zeeland and the village of Verhelstwijk in the municipality of Knokke-Heist.

Other notable individuals with the surname Verhelst include Willem Verhelst, a 17th-century Dutch poet and playwright; Pieter Verhelst, a 19th-century Belgian architect renowned for his Neo-Gothic and Neo-Renaissance designs; and Johan Verhelst, a 20th-century Belgian Olympic cyclist who competed in the 1936 Berlin Games.

While the surname Verhelst may have originated as a descriptive name related to location or preference, it has since become a respected and well-established surname across the Netherlands, Belgium, and beyond.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Verhelst

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!