2000
#57,849
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 329
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.12
Very Rare Last name
Verhelst
A Dutch surname referring to the one who hid or protected others.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 415 Americans carry the last name Verhelst. That puts it at #60,172 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.12 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 825,914 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Verhelst 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
415
1 in 825,914
Census rank
#60,172
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
362
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 362 bearers of the surname Verhelst in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.12 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 60172nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Verhelst, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.1%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Verhelst
Among Census respondents with the surname Verhelst, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.1%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Verhelst 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 Verhelst surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.7% · 314
- Hispanic or Latino9.1% · 33
- Two or more races2.8% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Verhelst
Verhelst 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
#56,588
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 361
+32 bearers (+9.7%)
Per 100,000 0.12
Rank movement Up 1,261 places
2020
#60,172
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 362
+1 bearers (+0.3%)
Per 100,000 0.12
Rank movement Down 3,584 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #57,849 | 329 | 0.12 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #56,588 | 361 | 0.12 | +32 bearers (+9.7%) | Up 1,261 places |
| 2020 | #60,172 | 362 | 0.12 | +1 bearers (+0.3%) | Down 3,584 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 Verhelst 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 | #56,588 | #60,172 | -6.3% |
| Count | 361 | 362 | 0.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.12 | 0.12 | 0.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Verhelst bearers went from 361 to 362 (+0.3% change). The surname moved down 3,584 positions in the national ranking, going from #56,588 to #60,172.
FAQ
Verhelst surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Verhelst?
Name Census estimates that about 415 living Americans carry the surname Verhelst. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 825,914 residents.
How common is Verhelst?
Verhelst ranks #60,172 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.12 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 362 people with the surname Verhelst. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (415), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.12 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.12 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 Verhelst.
Has Verhelst become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Verhelst went from 361 recorded bearers to 362. That is an increase of 1 (+0.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #56,588 to #60,172.
What does the Census say about the background of Verhelst?
Among Census respondents with the surname Verhelst, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.1%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Verhelst in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.7% (314 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Verhelst appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.7%), Hispanic (9.1%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Verhelst (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 Verhelst mean?
A Dutch surname referring to the one who hid or protected others. 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 Verhelst (0.12 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 common is the surname Verhelst?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Verhelst, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.