2000
#146,011
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Vietze
A variant spelling of Vieths, from the Middle German word for pasture.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Vietze. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vietze 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
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Vietze in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vietze, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vietze
The surname Vietze is believed to have originated in Germany, likely appearing in the 16th or 17th century. It is thought to be derived from the German word "viet," which means "pasture" or "meadow." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who lived near or worked on a pasture or meadowland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Vietze can be found in the records of the city of Halle, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. In the late 16th century, a man named Hans Vietze is mentioned as a resident of the city.
Another early reference to the name comes from the town of Osterode, in Lower Saxony, where a family with the surname Vietze is recorded as living in the 17th century. It is possible that the name was originally spelled slightly differently, such as "Vietzen" or "Vietz," as spelling variations were common in earlier times.
In the 18th century, a notable figure with the surname Vietze was Johann Christoph Vietze, a German theologian and philosopher who was born in 1724 in Halle and died in 1794. He was known for his work on natural theology and ethics.
Another individual of note was Carl Friedrich Vietze, a German artist and engraver who lived from 1779 to 1857. He was born in Hannover and is known for his detailed engravings of landscapes and architectural subjects.
In the 19th century, a man named Friedrich Vietze (1815-1891) became a prominent lawyer and politician in the city of Leipzig, serving as a member of the city council and as a judge.
Towards the latter part of the 19th century, a family with the surname Vietze is recorded as living in the town of Quedlinburg, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. This may be connected to the earlier mentions of the name in the nearby city of Halle.
While the surname Vietze is not among the most common in Germany, it has a long and well-documented history, particularly in the regions of Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony. The name's origins as a place-based descriptor reflect the agricultural roots of many German surnames.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vietze
Among Census respondents with the surname Vietze, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Vietze 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 Vietze surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.7% · 100
- Two or more races7.0% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 3
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vietze
Vietze 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
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
+8 bearers (+7.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,242 places
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
+2 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 758 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #146,011 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+7.7%) | Down 1,242 places |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.8%) | Up 758 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 Vietze 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 | #147,253 | #146,495 | 0.5% |
| Count | 112 | 114 | 1.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vietze bearers went from 112 to 114 (+1.8% change). The surname moved up 758 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #146,495.
FAQ
Vietze surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vietze?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Vietze. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Vietze?
Vietze ranks #146,495 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 114 people with the surname Vietze. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), 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 Vietze.
Has Vietze become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vietze went from 112 recorded bearers to 114. That is an increase of 2 (+1.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #147,253 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Vietze?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vietze, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%). 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 Vietze in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.7% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vietze appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.7%), Two or More Races (7.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%). 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 Vietze (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 Vietze mean?
A variant spelling of Vieths, from the Middle German word for pasture. 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 Vietze (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 people are called Vietze?
Find out how many people have the surname Vietze on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.