Vose last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Vose

A surname derived from a Norman French place name, possibly related to a woodland area.

Vose, 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 Vose surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Vose in America

Vose is the 16720th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Vose surname appeared 1,711 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 Vose.

We can also compare 2010 data for Vose 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 16720 15903 5.01%
Count 1,711 1,679 1.89%
Proportion per 100k 0.58 0.62 -6.67%

The history of the last name Vose

The surname Vose originates from England, with its earliest recorded use dating back to the 12th century. The name is derived from the Old English word "foss," meaning a ditch or waterway, possibly referring to someone who lived near a ditch or stream.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, the name appears as "de Fossa," which translates to "of the ditch." This early spelling suggests that the name may have originated as a place name before evolving into a surname.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname was John de Foss, who lived in Gloucestershire, England, in the 13th century. The name also appeared in various medieval records, such as the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where it was spelled as "Fosse."

As time passed, the name underwent several spelling variations, including Vose, Voce, Voase, and Voase. These variations likely resulted from regional dialects and the inconsistent spelling practices of the time.

Prominent individuals with the surname Vose include Joseph Vose (1738-1816), an American merchant and politician from Massachusetts who served as a Representative in the United States Congress. Another notable figure was Robert Vose (1723-1785), an American colonial merchant and patriot during the American Revolutionary War.

In England, one of the earliest recorded instances of the surname is found in the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire in 1197, where a Richard de la Foss is mentioned. Thomas Vose (c. 1577-1658), an English colonist and one of the founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, is another notable individual with this surname.

The surname Vose also has connections to various place names in England, such as Vose's Farm in Gloucestershire and Vose's Mill in Wiltshire. These locations may have been named after individuals with the Vose surname, further highlighting the name's historical roots in the region.

Throughout history, the Vose surname has been carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds, including farmers, merchants, politicians, and colonists. Despite its relatively uncommon nature, the name has left its mark on historical records and continues to be associated with its English origins.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Vose

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

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 Vose was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 92.93% 1,590
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.58% 10
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 2.05% 35
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.47% 8
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.17% 20
Hispanic Origin 2.81% 48

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 Vose has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 92.93% 95.12% -2.33%
Black 0.58% 0.89% -42.18%
Asian and Pacific Islander 2.05% 1.13% 57.86%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.47% 0.54% -13.86%
Two or More Races 1.17% 0.89% 27.18%
Hispanic 2.81% 1.43% 65.09%

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

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

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"Vose last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/vose-surname-popularity/.

"Vose last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/vose-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Vose last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/vose-surname-popularity/.

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