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

Voorheis, 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 Voorheis surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Voorheis in America

Voorheis is the 36379th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Voorheis surname appeared 615 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 Voorheis.

We can also compare 2010 data for Voorheis 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 Voorheis

The surname VOORHEIS originated in the Netherlands during the 16th century. It is derived from the Dutch words "voor" meaning "before" and "heis" meaning "enclosure" or "hedge". The name likely referred to someone who lived near the front hedgerow or boundary of a village or town.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in a Dutch census record from 1587, listing a Pieter Voorheis residing in the city of Leiden. The name is also found in various church records and municipal archives from the 1600s across the Netherlands.

In the 17th century, several Voorheis families immigrated to the Dutch colony of New Netherland, which later became part of the state of New York. Johannes Voorheis (1645-1720) was among the earliest settlers, arriving in New Amsterdam (present-day New York City) around 1660. He later moved to the Hudson Valley region.

Another notable Voorheis was Dirck Voorheis (1670-1745), a farmer and landowner in what is now Albany County, New York. He was involved in several land disputes with neighboring settlers and left records detailing the boundaries of his property.

In the 18th century, the name Voorheis evolved into various spellings like Voorhies, Voorhis, and Voorhees, reflecting the Dutch influence on the English language in parts of New York and New Jersey.

One prominent figure was Steven Voorhies (1756-1832), a soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War and later became a respected judge in New Jersey. Lucas Voorhees (1786-1871) was a prominent lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. Congressman from New Jersey in the 1830s.

By the 19th century, the surname had spread across the United States as descendants of the original Dutch settlers migrated westward. James Voorhees (1834-1907) was a Baptist minister and author from Indiana, while Robert Voorhees (1835-1906) was a successful businessman and real estate developer in Colorado.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Voorheis

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

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

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

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