2000
#6,067
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,213
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.93
Rare Last name
Vice
An English occupational surname referring to a vise maker or someone who works with a vise or screw press.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,980 Americans carry the last name Vice. That puts it at #6,274 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.74 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 57,317 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vice 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Vice with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.0K
1 in 57,317
Census rank
#6,274
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,215 bearers of the surname Vice in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.74 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6274th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vice, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Black (5.3%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vice
The surname Vice is of English origin, dating back to the medieval era. It is believed to have derived from the Old French word "vis," meaning "screw" or "spiral staircase." This occupational surname was likely bestowed upon an individual who worked as a maker or repairer of winding staircases or spiral stairways.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Vice surname can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Wiltshire, England, from 1242, where a Robert le Vyse is mentioned. The use of the prefix "le" before the surname was common during this time, indicating "the" or "the one."
In the 13th century, the surname was also recorded with various spellings, such as Vyce, Vise, and Vyse, reflecting the regional dialects and inconsistencies in spelling during that era. The spelling "Vice" became more standardized in later centuries.
Notably, the Vice surname appears in the renowned Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landholdings and population across England commissioned by William the Conqueror. This early record suggests the name's presence in England before the Norman Conquest.
Over the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the Vice surname. One such figure was Sir Thomas Vice (c. 1506-1558), an English merchant and diplomat who served as the Governor of the Company of Merchant Adventurers during the reign of Queen Mary I.
Another prominent bearer of the Vice name was John Vice (c. 1587-1635), an English clergyman and writer who served as the Rector of Battersea in London. He authored several religious works during his lifetime.
In the 18th century, John Vice (1718-1790) was a renowned English architect and surveyor responsible for designing several notable buildings, including the Radcliffe Observatory in Oxford.
The Vice surname also has connections to the literary world, with William Vice (1865-1936), an English novelist and short story writer known for his works set in rural Gloucestershire.
Finally, Samantha Vice (born 1968) is a contemporary South African philosopher and academic, currently serving as a Professor of Philosophy at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vice
Among Census respondents with the surname Vice, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Black (5.3%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Vice 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 Vice surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.8% · 4,529
- Black or African American5.3% · 279
- Two or more races3.4% · 178
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 167
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 39
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 23
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vice
Vice 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
#6,318
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,403
+190 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 1.83
Rank movement Down 251 places
2020
#6,274
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,215
-188 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 1.74
Rank movement Up 44 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,067 | 5,213 | 1.93 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,318 | 5,403 | 1.83 | +190 bearers (+3.6%) | Down 251 places |
| 2020 | #6,274 | 5,215 | 1.74 | -188 bearers (-3.5%) | Up 44 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 Vice 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 | #6,318 | #6,274 | 0.7% |
| Count | 5,403 | 5,215 | -3.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.83 | 1.74 | -4.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vice bearers went from 5,403 to 5,215 (-3.5% change). The surname moved up 44 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,318 to #6,274.
FAQ
Vice surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vice?
Name Census estimates that about 5,980 living Americans carry the surname Vice. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 57,317 residents.
How common is Vice?
Vice ranks #6,274 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.74 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,215 people with the surname Vice. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,980), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.74 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.74 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Vice.
Has Vice become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vice went from 5,403 recorded bearers to 5,215. That is a decrease of 188 (-3.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #6,318 to #6,274.
What does the Census say about the background of Vice?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vice, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Black (5.3%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Vice in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.8% (4,529 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vice appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.8%), Black (5.3%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Vice (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 Vice mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a vise maker or someone who works with a vise or screw press. 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 Vice (1.74 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 last name Vice?
See how many people are called Vice on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.