Find out how popular the last name Vlad is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Vlad.

Vlad, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Vlad surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Vlad in America

Vlad is the 44957th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Vlad surname appeared 477 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Vlad.

We can also compare 2010 data for Vlad to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Vlad

The surname VLAD is of Romanian origin, derived from the Slavic word "Vladislav" or "Vlad," meaning "to rule." It first emerged in the 14th century among the noble families of Wallachia, a historical and semi-independent principality within present-day Romania.

The name gained prominence with Vlad III, also known as Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Dracula, who ruled Wallachia intermittently between 1448 and 1476. His brutal methods of punishing enemies, including impalement, earned him a fearsome reputation that later inspired Bram Stoker's famous novel "Dracula."

Early records of the VLAD surname can be found in various Romanian chronicles and manuscripts from the 15th and 16th centuries, such as the Cantacuzino Chronicle and the Annals of Wallachia.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the VLAD surname was Vlad Călugărul (Vlad the Monk), who lived in the late 14th century and was a member of the Basarab dynasty, a prominent family in Wallachia.

Another notable figure was Vlad Țepeș (Vlad the Impaler), born in 1431 and died in 1476, who was the Prince of Wallachia and the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula. His brutal tactics earned him a notorious reputation, but he is also considered a national hero in Romania for his resistance against Ottoman rule.

In the 16th century, Vlad Înecatul (Vlad the Drowned) was a Prince of Wallachia who ruled briefly in 1512 before being deposed and drowned in the Dâmbovița River.

During the 18th century, Vlad Vintilă-Vodă was a Prince of Wallachia who ruled from 1720 to 1730 and is known for his efforts to modernize the principality.

In the 19th century, Vlad Ghica was a prominent Romanian statesman and diplomat who served as the Prime Minister of Wallachia and later as the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the United Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia.

The VLAD surname was primarily concentrated in the historical regions of Wallachia and Moldavia but gradually spread throughout Romania and neighboring countries with significant Romanian populations.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Vlad

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Vlad.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Vlad was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Vlad has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Vlad was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Vlad, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!