2010
#157,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Vigdor
A surname of Hebrew origin meaning "watchman" or "guard".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Vigdor. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vigdor 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Vigdor in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vigdor, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vigdor
The surname Vigdor is of Jewish origin, originating from the Hebrew word "Migdor" meaning "watchtower" or "fortress". It is believed to have first emerged in Central and Eastern Europe during the Middle Ages.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 16th century in Poland and Ukraine. Historical records from that time period show variations in spelling, such as Vigdor, Wigdor, and Vigdorowitz. This suggests that the name may have been adopted by Jewish families who lived in or near fortified towns or settlements.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Rabbi Shmuel Vigdor, a prominent Jewish scholar who lived in Poland in the late 16th century. He was known for his commentary on the Talmud and other Jewish texts.
In the 17th century, the Vigdor surname appeared in various Jewish communities across Eastern Europe, including in Lithuania, Belarus, and Russia. For example, there are records of a Chaim Vigdor who lived in the town of Brest-Litovsk (now Belarus) in the mid-1600s.
As Jewish populations migrated westward in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Vigdor name spread to other parts of Europe and eventually to the United States and other countries. Notable individuals with the surname include:
1. David Vigdor (1873-1958), a Russian-American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.
2. Meyer Wigdor Vigdor (1886-1965), a Polish-born American lawyer and judge who served as a Justice of the New York Supreme Court.
3. Melvin J. Vigdor (1912-2004), an American lawyer and civil rights activist who fought against housing discrimination in New York.
4. Harold Vigdor (1904-1975), a Canadian politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.
5. Jacob Vigdor (1965-), an American economist and professor at the University of Washington, known for his research on education and labor economics.
While the Vigdor surname has its roots in the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe, it has since spread around the world and is now found in various countries and cultures.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vigdor
Among Census respondents with the surname Vigdor, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Vigdor 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 Vigdor surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.0% · 105
- Hispanic or Latino8.5% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vigdor
Vigdor 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
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+15 bearers (+14.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 13,723 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #157,234 | 103 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | +15 bearers (+14.6%) | Up 13,723 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 Vigdor 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 | #157,234 | #143,511 | 8.7% |
| Count | 103 | 118 | 14.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 31.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vigdor bearers went from 103 to 118 (+14.6% change). The surname moved up 13,723 positions in the national ranking, going from #157,234 to #143,511.
FAQ
Vigdor surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vigdor?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Vigdor. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Vigdor?
Vigdor ranks #143,511 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 118 people with the surname Vigdor. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), 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 Vigdor.
Has Vigdor become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vigdor went from 103 recorded bearers to 118. That is an increase of 15 (+14.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #157,234 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Vigdor?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vigdor, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%). 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 Vigdor in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.0% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vigdor appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.0%), Hispanic (8.5%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%). 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 Vigdor (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 Vigdor mean?
A surname of Hebrew origin meaning "watchman" or "guard". 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 Vigdor (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 Vigdor?
Want to know how many people have the surname Vigdor? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.