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

Voight, 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 Voight surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Voight in America

Voight is the 10382nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Voight surname appeared 3,103 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Voight.

We can also compare 2010 data for Voight 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 Voight

The surname "Voight" is of German origin, with roots dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Germanic personal name "Folchart" or "Volkhart," which translates to "people brave" or "army brave." The name likely originated in the southern regions of Germany, particularly Bavaria and Austria.

In the 13th century, the name appeared in various records and manuscripts, often with different spellings such as "Volcht," "Volght," or "Folchart." One of the earliest documented instances of the name was found in the Codex Traditionum Ecclesiae Coloniensis, a medieval manuscript from the Archdiocese of Cologne, dated around 1237.

During the Middle Ages, the name was associated with several notable individuals. One such person was Volchtarius de Nuremberg, a merchant and landowner from Nuremberg, who lived in the late 14th century. Another was Volchthart von Regensburg, a renowned scholar and theologian who taught at the University of Vienna in the early 15th century.

As the name spread across Europe, it adopted various regional variations. In the Netherlands, for instance, the name was sometimes spelled as "Vogt" or "Voicht." One notable bearer of this variation was Pieter Voicht van der Velde, a Dutch painter and engraver who lived from 1607 to 1667.

In the 16th century, the name appeared in the records of several German noble families, including the Voights of Saxony and the Voights of Hesse. One prominent figure from this era was Johann Voight, a German historian and geographer who lived from 1516 to 1592.

The name also found its way to England, where it was sometimes anglicized as "Voight" or "Voyt." One prominent English bearer of the name was Sir John Voight, a politician and landowner who served as a member of parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in the late 16th century.

Another notable figure was Johann Voight, a German composer and organist who lived from 1667 to 1719. He was renowned for his work in the Baroque era and served as the court composer for the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg.

As the name spread across Europe and beyond, it continued to evolve and take on various forms, reflecting the cultural and linguistic diversity of the regions it encountered.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Voight

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

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

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

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