2000
#5,921
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,353
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.98
Rare Last name
Voyles
Derived from the Old French "vouil," referring to someone who lived in a valley or low-lying area.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,054 Americans carry the last name Voyles. That puts it at #6,212 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.77 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 56,616 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Voyles surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
6.1K
1 in 56,616
Census rank
#6,212
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,279 bearers of the surname Voyles in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.77 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6212th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Voyles, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Voyles
The surname Voyles originates from England and is believed to have derived from the Old English word "vole," meaning a small field mouse or vole. The name likely emerged as a nickname for someone who possessed traits reminiscent of a vole, such as being small, quick, or quiet.
In the 13th century, the surname was recorded in various spellings, including Vole, Volle, and Voles, reflecting the regional dialects and the lack of standardized spelling at the time. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which lists a William Vole from Oxfordshire.
The Voyles surname has been documented in historical records across various counties in England, particularly in the Midlands and the South. In the 16th century, the name appeared in the parish registers of Warwickshire, where a John Voyles was recorded in 1567.
Interestingly, the name Voyles has also been associated with place names, such as Voles Hill in Gloucestershire and Voles Green in Berkshire. These place names may have influenced the development of the surname or vice versa, as people often adopted surnames derived from the places they lived or worked.
One notable figure in history with the surname Voyles was Sir John Voyles (1625-1692), an English politician and Member of Parliament for Warwickshire during the reign of King Charles II. Another individual of note was William Voyles (1674-1738), a renowned clockmaker from London, whose intricate timepieces were highly sought after in his era.
Other historical figures with the Voyles surname include Mary Voyles (1798-1872), a respected Quaker minister and abolitionist from Pennsylvania, and Thomas Voyles (1845-1918), a Union Army veteran who fought in the American Civil War and later became a prominent farmer in Indiana.
The Voyles surname has also been documented in various parts of the United States, where it was likely brought by English immigrants in the 17th and 18th centuries. One example is Samuel Voyles (1760-1835), a early settler in Kentucky who played a role in the state's frontier history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Voyles
Among Census respondents with the surname Voyles, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Voyles bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Voyles surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.6% · 4,835
- Two or more races3.8% · 202
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 145
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 54
- Black or African American0.5% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Voyles
Voyles appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#6,165
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,551
+198 bearers (+3.7%)
Per 100,000 1.88
Rank movement Down 244 places
2020
#6,212
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,279
-272 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 1.77
Rank movement Down 47 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,921 | 5,353 | 1.98 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,165 | 5,551 | 1.88 | +198 bearers (+3.7%) | Down 244 places |
| 2020 | #6,212 | 5,279 | 1.77 | -272 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 47 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Voyles surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #6,165 | #6,212 | -0.8% |
| Count | 5,551 | 5,279 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.88 | 1.77 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Voyles bearers went from 5,551 to 5,279 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 47 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,165 to #6,212.
FAQ
Voyles surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Voyles?
Name Census estimates that about 6,054 living Americans carry the surname Voyles. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 56,616 residents.
How common is Voyles?
Voyles ranks #6,212 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.77 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,279 people with the surname Voyles. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,054), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.77 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.77 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Voyles.
Has Voyles become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Voyles went from 5,551 recorded bearers to 5,279. That is a decrease of 272 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,165 to #6,212.
What does the Census say about the background of Voyles?
Among Census respondents with the surname Voyles, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Voyles in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.6% (4,835 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Voyles appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.6%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Hispanic (2.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Voyles (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Voyles mean?
Derived from the Old French "vouil," referring to someone who lived in a valley or low-lying area. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Voyles (1.77 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Voyles?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.