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

Vesper, 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 Vesper surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Vesper in America

Vesper is the 24049th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Vesper surname appeared 1,048 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 Vesper.

We can also compare 2010 data for Vesper 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 Vesper

The surname Vesper is believed to have originated in Germany, with its earliest known use dating back to the 13th century. The name is derived from the Latin word "vesper," meaning "evening" or "evening star," and was likely initially used as a descriptive surname for someone who worked or lived in the evenings.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Vesper surname can be found in the records of the city of Nuremberg in the year 1283, where a certain Johannes Vesper is mentioned as a resident. This suggests that the name had already been established in the region by that time.

In the 14th century, the name appears in various German records and chronicles, indicating its continued use and spread throughout the country. For example, a "Henricus Vesper" is mentioned in the city records of Cologne in 1348, and a "Petrus Vesper" is listed as a landowner in the village of Niederau in the year 1372.

As the name spread across Europe, variations in spelling and pronunciation began to emerge. In England, for instance, the name was sometimes rendered as "Vespere" or "Vesper," while in France, it took the form "Vespre" or "Vespier."

Notable individuals bearing the Vesper surname include:

1. Johannes Vesper (c. 1360 - 1420), a German scholar and theologian who taught at the University of Heidelberg.
2. Heinrich Vesper (1480 - 1549), a German Renaissance painter known for his religious works.
3. Anna Vesper (1585 - 1638), a German poet and writer who was part of the literary circle surrounding Martin Opitz.
4. Johann Vesper (1677 - 1746), a German composer and organist active in the Baroque period.
5. Friedrich Vesper (1825 - 1901), a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Berlin.

While the Vesper surname has its origins in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of Europe and beyond, carried by various migrations and diasporas over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Vesper

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

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

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

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