2000
#139,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Vierstra
A Dutch surname possibly related to "vier" meaning four.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Vierstra. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vierstra 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Vierstra in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vierstra, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.1%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vierstra
The surname Vierstra is of Dutch origin, derived from the Middle Dutch word "vier" meaning "four" and "stro" meaning "straw". This suggests the name may have originated as an occupational surname for someone who worked with straw, perhaps a thatcher or a farmer.
The earliest recorded instances of the Vierstra surname date back to the 16th century in the Netherlands. In 1587, a record mentions a Pieter Vierstra living in the town of Dordrecht. Another early reference is found in a 1602 document from Leiden, which lists a Jan Vierstra among the residents.
During the 17th century, the name appears to have been concentrated in the Dutch provinces of South Holland and North Holland. The spelling variations at that time included Vierstra, Vierstrae, and Vierstroo.
One notable bearer of the Vierstra name was Dirck Vierstra, a Dutch Golden Age painter born in Rotterdam in 1609. He was a member of the Rotterdam Guild of St. Luke and is known for his still life paintings and portraits.
In the 18th century, the Vierstra surname began to spread to other parts of the Netherlands and neighboring regions. A record from 1742 mentions a Gerrit Vierstra living in the town of Zwolle, in the eastern Netherlands.
Another person of note was Jan Vierstra, a Dutch merchant and ship owner born in Amsterdam in 1725. He was involved in the lucrative trade with the Dutch East Indies and became a wealthy businessman.
As the Dutch emigrated to other parts of the world, the Vierstra name traveled with them. In the 19th century, there are records of individuals with this surname in South Africa and the United States.
One such person was Pieter Vierstra, a South African farmer and writer born in Cape Town in 1845. He wrote several books about life on the Cape frontier and the struggles of the Boer settlers.
In the United States, a notable bearer of the Vierstra name was Hendrik Vierstra, a Dutch-American artist born in New York City in 1865. He was known for his landscape paintings and was a member of the prestigious Salmagundi Club.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vierstra
Among Census respondents with the surname Vierstra, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.1%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Vierstra 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 Vierstra surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.3% · 98
- Hispanic or Latino8.1% · 9
- Two or more races3.6% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vierstra
Vierstra 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
#134,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
+15 bearers (+13.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 5,045 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-14 bearers (-11.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,953 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #139,757 | 110 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #134,712 | 125 | 0.04 | +15 bearers (+13.6%) | Up 5,045 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | -14 bearers (-11.2%) | Down 13,953 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 Vierstra 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 | #134,712 | #148,665 | -10.4% |
| Count | 125 | 111 | -11.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vierstra bearers went from 125 to 111 (-11.2% change). The surname moved down 13,953 positions in the national ranking, going from #134,712 to #148,665.
FAQ
Vierstra surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vierstra?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Vierstra. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Vierstra?
Vierstra ranks #148,665 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 111 people with the surname Vierstra. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), 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 Vierstra.
Has Vierstra become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vierstra went from 125 recorded bearers to 111. That is a decrease of 14 (-11.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #134,712 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Vierstra?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vierstra, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.1%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Vierstra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.3% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vierstra appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.3%), Hispanic (8.1%), Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Vierstra (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 Vierstra mean?
A Dutch surname possibly related to "vier" meaning four. 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 Vierstra (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 many Americans have the surname Vierstra?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.