Vander
A gender neutral name of Dutch origin meaning "from the river".
Name Census estimates that about 1,363 living Americans carry the first name Vander. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Vander today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vander births was 2024 (91 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vander. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.4K
~ 1 in 251,471 Americans
Peak year
2024
91 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,801
Tracked since 1884
Census
Vander in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,029 people with the first name Vander, which placed it at #12,193 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#12,193
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,029 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
62.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vander
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vander is White at 62.3%. The next largest groups are Black (20.5%) and Hispanic (8.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Vander 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 name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Vander at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.3% · 641
- Black or African American20.5% · 211
- Hispanic or Latino8.3% · 85
- Two or more races6.3% · 65
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 13
Popularity
Vander: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vander from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 531 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Vander remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Vander by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Vander during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Vanders live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Vander, while Washington, Minnesota, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 18 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Vander
The name Vander has its roots in the Dutch language, originating in the Netherlands during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Dutch prefix "van der," which translates to "from the" or "of the." This prefix was often used in combination with a surname or a place name to indicate a person's origin or ancestry.
In the early days of the Netherlands, surnames were not as common as they are today. Instead, people were often identified by their place of residence, occupation, or physical characteristics. The prefix "van der" was used to indicate that a person was from a particular place or region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Vander can be found in historical records dating back to the 13th century. During this time, the Netherlands was undergoing significant economic and cultural growth, with cities like Amsterdam and Rotterdam emerging as important trading centers.
While the name Vander itself does not appear in any ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is likely that it was used by Dutch families and communities throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods.
One notable figure who bore the name Vander was Vander Helm, a Dutch explorer and navigator who lived in the late 16th century. Helm was part of the first Dutch expedition to explore the East Indies, and his accounts of the voyage contributed to the growth of the Dutch East India Company.
Another historical figure with the name Vander was Vander Beke, a Flemish writer and poet who lived in the late 13th century. Beke is known for his works that chronicled the lives and deeds of the Counts of Flanders, providing valuable insights into the history and culture of the region.
In the 17th century, Vander Noot, a Dutch politician and statesman, played a significant role in the Dutch Revolt against Spanish rule. Noot was a prominent figure in the early stages of the revolt and was instrumental in establishing the Dutch Republic.
During the 18th century, Vander Linden, a Dutch botanist and naturalist, made important contributions to the study of plants and their classification. Linden's work helped lay the foundations for modern botanical science and taxonomy.
In the 19th century, Vander Meer, a Dutch painter and artist, gained recognition for his landscapes and rural scenes that captured the beauty and tranquility of the Dutch countryside.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Vander, which has its roots in the Dutch language and culture. While the name may have evolved over time and been adapted in different regions, its origins can be traced back to the Netherlands and the use of the prefix "van der" to indicate a person's place of origin.
People
Vander + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vander as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with V
Other first names starting with V with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Vander: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vander?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,363 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vander going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 251,471 US residents.
Is Vander a common name?
We classify Vander as "Rare". It ranks above 91.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,688 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vander most popular?
The single biggest year for Vander was 2024, when 91 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vander is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Vander in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,029 people with the name Vander, or 0.34 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,193 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Vander in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Vander?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Vander leans strongly male. 1,005 people counted with this name were male (98.0%), compared with 21 female bearers (2.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Vander?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vander is White at 62.3%. The next largest groups are Black (20.5%) and Hispanic (8.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Vander most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Vander in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.3% (641 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Vander in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Vander a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vander in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Vander still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Vander in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Vander can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Vander?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.