2010
#160,975
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Viehe
A surname likely of German origin, potentially referring to cattle or livestock.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 123 Americans carry the last name Viehe. That puts it at #151,639 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,786,621 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Viehe 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
123
1 in 2,786,621
Census rank
#151,639
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
107
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 107 bearers of the surname Viehe in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 151639th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Viehe, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (3.7%) and Black (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Viehe
The surname VIEHE is of German origin, with its earliest records dating back to the 16th century in the region of Lower Saxony, Germany. The name is believed to have derived from the German word "vieh," which means "cattle" or "livestock," suggesting that the name's bearers may have been involved in cattle farming or livestock trading.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the VIEHE surname can be found in the church records of the town of Celle, Lower Saxony, in the year 1578, where a certain Hans Viehe was mentioned. This indicates that the name was already established in the region by that time.
In the 17th century, the VIEHE surname appears in various historical documents from the neighboring regions of North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse. For instance, a Johann Viehe is listed as a resident of the town of Marburg in Hesse in the year 1643.
During the 18th century, the VIEHE name spread further across Germany, with records showing bearers of the surname in cities like Berlin and Dresden. One notable figure from this period was Johann Gottfried Viehe (1716-1783), a German composer and organist who served as the Kapellmeister at the court of the Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt.
In the 19th century, some individuals with the VIEHE surname made their mark in various fields. For example, Johann Georg Viehe (1813-1888) was a German mathematician and educator who authored several textbooks on mathematics and physics. Another notable bearer of the name was Heinrich Viehe (1823-1892), a German theologian and historian who served as a professor at the University of Halle.
The 20th century saw the VIEHE name continue to spread globally, with bearers of the surname found in countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia, likely due to immigration from Germany. One prominent figure from this period was Hans-Georg Viehe (1924-2017), a German chemist who made significant contributions to the field of physical organic chemistry and held academic positions at various universities in Germany and the United States.
Overall, the surname VIEHE has a rich history rooted in the German regions of Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Hesse, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 16th century. The name's likely connection to cattle farming and livestock trading has been preserved through its etymology, while its bearers have made notable contributions in fields ranging from music and mathematics to theology and chemistry over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Viehe
Among Census respondents with the surname Viehe, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (3.7%) and Black (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Viehe 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 Viehe surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.5% · 99
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.7% · 4
- Black or African American2.8% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Viehe
Viehe appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#151,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
+7 bearers (+7.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 9,336 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #160,975 | 100 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #151,639 | 107 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+7.0%) | Up 9,336 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 Viehe 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 | #160,975 | #151,639 | 5.8% |
| Count | 100 | 107 | 7.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 19.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Viehe bearers went from 100 to 107 (+7.0% change). The surname moved up 9,336 positions in the national ranking, going from #160,975 to #151,639.
FAQ
Viehe surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Viehe?
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the surname Viehe. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,786,621 residents.
How common is Viehe?
Viehe ranks #151,639 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 107 people with the surname Viehe. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (123), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Viehe.
Has Viehe become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Viehe went from 100 recorded bearers to 107. That is an increase of 7 (+7.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #160,975 to #151,639.
What does the Census say about the background of Viehe?
Among Census respondents with the surname Viehe, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (3.7%) and Black (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 Viehe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (99 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Viehe appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.5%), American Indian/Alaska Native (3.7%), Black (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 Viehe (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 Viehe mean?
A surname likely of German origin, potentially referring to cattle or livestock. 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 Viehe (0.04 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 Viehe?
See how many people are called Viehe on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.