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

Vlasic, 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 Vlasic surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Vlasic in America

Vlasic is the 60196th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Vlasic surname appeared 335 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 Vlasic.

We can also compare 2010 data for Vlasic 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 Vlasic

The surname Vlasic originates from the Slavic regions of Eastern Europe, specifically in the areas that are now modern-day Croatia and Serbia. It likely emerged during the Middle Ages, sometime between the 11th and 15th centuries.

The name Vlasic is derived from the Slavic word "Vlach," which referred to an ethnic group of Romanized people who lived in the Balkan region. This term was often used to describe those who spoke a Romance language, such as Romanian or Aromanian, and practiced various pastoral or transhumant lifestyles.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Vlasic surname can be found in the historical records of Dubrovnik, a prominent maritime city-state in what is now southern Croatia. In the 14th century, a merchant named Petar Vlasic was documented as trading goods between Dubrovnik and the Ottoman Empire.

Another notable early bearer of the Vlasic name was Luka Vlasic, a Ragusan (Dubrovnik) sailor and explorer who accompanied the famous Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan on his voyage to circumnavigate the globe in the early 16th century. Luka Vlasic was born around 1490 and played a crucial role in the expedition, though he did not survive the journey.

In the 17th century, a prominent family with the surname Vlasic settled in the region of Lika, which was then part of the Military Frontier of the Habsburg Monarchy. One member of this family, Nikola Vlasic (1615-1678), served as a military commander and played a significant role in defending the region against Ottoman incursions.

During the 19th century, a noted scholar and linguist named Gjuro Vlasic (1819-1895) made important contributions to the study of Slavic languages and dialects. He was born in the town of Zadar, which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and spent much of his career researching and documenting the diverse linguistic traditions of the Balkan region.

Another individual of note with the Vlasic surname was Jovan Vlasic (1875-1948), a Serbian politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later known as Yugoslavia) in the early 20th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Vlasic

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

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 Vlasic 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 Vlasic 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 Vlasic was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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