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

Vonk, 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 Vonk surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Vonk in America

Vonk is the 36426th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Vonk surname appeared 614 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 Vonk.

We can also compare 2010 data for Vonk 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 Vonk

The surname VONK is of Dutch origin, deriving from the Middle Dutch word "vonke" which means "spark" or "flash". This name likely originated in the Low Countries region during the late medieval period, between the 13th and 15th centuries.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the VONK surname can be found in the records of the city of Delft in the Netherlands, where a Willem Vonk was mentioned in a document dated 1428. The name was also present in other Dutch cities such as Amsterdam and Rotterdam during the 16th and 17th centuries.

The VONK surname may have initially been an occupational name, given to individuals who worked with fire or sparks, such as blacksmiths or metal workers. It could also have been a descriptive name, referring to a person with a fiery temperament or a quick mind.

In the 17th century, a notable bearer of the VONK surname was Jan Vonk, a Dutch Golden Age painter who was active between 1620 and 1650. His works, which primarily depicted landscapes and seascapes, can be found in various museums across the Netherlands.

Another individual of note was Pieter Vonk, a Dutch East India Company merchant who lived from 1635 to 1705. He was involved in the spice trade and spent many years in the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia).

During the 18th century, the VONK surname spread to other parts of Europe, including Germany and France, where it was sometimes spelled as "Vonck" or "Vonque".

In the 19th century, a prominent VONK was the Dutch politician and lawyer Jacob Vonk (1805-1875), who served as the Minister of Justice in the Netherlands between 1858 and 1860.

Another notable bearer of the VONK surname was the Dutch writer and poet Cornelis Vonk (1866-1945), who was known for his works on Dutch folklore and traditions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Vonk

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

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

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

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