2000
#14,995
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,809
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.67
Rare Last name
Vinton
Derived from a place name meaning "fen town" or "marsh town" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,205 Americans carry the last name Vinton. That puts it at #14,806 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.64 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 155,444 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vinton 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 Vinton with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.2K
1 in 155,444
Census rank
#14,806
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,923 bearers of the surname Vinton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.64 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14806th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vinton, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.6%) and Black (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vinton
The surname Vinton traces its origins to the Anglo-Norman French name de Vinton, deriving from the Old French word "vigne" meaning "vine". This indicates that the name may have originated from a place name referring to a vineyard or wine-producing region.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Vinton can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landowners in England compiled in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. In this document, the name appears as "de Vinton", suggesting that it was initially a territorial designation for individuals hailing from a specific location.
During the Middle Ages, the Vinton family was prominent in the county of Somerset, England. Notable individuals from this period include Sir John Vinton, a knight who participated in the Hundred Years' War against France in the 14th century.
As the name spread across Britain, various spellings and variations emerged, such as Vinton, Vynton, and Vyntoun. One famous bearer of the name was Andrew Wyntoun, a Scottish poet and chronicler born around 1350, who authored the metrical chronicle "Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland".
In the 16th century, the Vinton family established a presence in the American colonies. Prominent figures included John Vinton, who settled in Maine in 1630, and Samuel Vinton, a Puritan preacher and one of the founders of the town of Vinton, Massachusetts, in 1644.
During the American Revolutionary War, Elisha Vinton served as a lieutenant in the Continental Army and participated in several major battles, including the Siege of Boston and the Battle of Bunker Hill.
In the 19th century, Samuel Finley Vinton, born in 1792, was a prominent American politician and lawyer who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for Ohio.
The Vinton name continues to be prevalent in various parts of the world, with notable individuals including Cynthia Vinton, an American author and illustrator of children's books, and David Vinton, a pioneer in the field of computer animation, best known for creating the iconic character "The Vinton Visitor" in the 1970s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vinton
Among Census respondents with the surname Vinton, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.6%) and Black (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Vinton 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 Vinton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.4% · 1,470
- Hispanic or Latino17.6% · 338
- Black or African American2.8% · 54
- Two or more races1.9% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vinton
Vinton 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
#15,183
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,940
+131 bearers (+7.2%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Down 188 places
2020
#14,806
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,923
-17 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Up 377 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,995 | 1,809 | 0.67 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,183 | 1,940 | 0.66 | +131 bearers (+7.2%) | Down 188 places |
| 2020 | #14,806 | 1,923 | 0.64 | -17 bearers (-0.9%) | Up 377 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 Vinton 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 | #15,183 | #14,806 | 2.5% |
| Count | 1,940 | 1,923 | -0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.66 | 0.64 | -2.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vinton bearers went from 1,940 to 1,923 (-0.9% change). The surname moved up 377 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,183 to #14,806.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Vinton
FAQ
Vinton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vinton?
Name Census estimates that about 2,205 living Americans carry the surname Vinton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 155,444 residents.
How common is Vinton?
Vinton ranks #14,806 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.64 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,923 people with the surname Vinton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,205), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.64 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.64 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Vinton.
Has Vinton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vinton went from 1,940 recorded bearers to 1,923. That is a decrease of 17 (-0.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,183 to #14,806.
What does the Census say about the background of Vinton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vinton, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.6%) 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 Vinton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.4% (1,470 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vinton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (76.4%), Hispanic (17.6%), 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 Vinton (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 Vinton mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "fen town" or "marsh town" in Old English. 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 Vinton (0.64 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 share the surname Vinton?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.