2000
#1,535
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,544
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.99
Uncommon Last name
Vickers
An occupational surname referring to a person who made candlewicks, from the Old English word "weoce" meaning wick.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 24,176 Americans carry the last name Vickers. That puts it at #1,668 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 14,177 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vickers 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Vickers with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
24K
1 in 14,177
Census rank
#1,668
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
21K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 21,083 bearers of the surname Vickers in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1668th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vickers, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.9%. The next largest groups are Black (15.7%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vickers
The surname Vickers originated in England during the medieval period, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Saxon word "fic", meaning a farm bailiff or keeper. It was an occupational surname given to someone who oversaw the land and livestock of a medieval estate or manor.
Vickers is believed to have first appeared in records as early as the 13th century, with various spellings such as Viker, Vyker, and Vykar being found in old manuscripts and records from that time. One of the earliest documented instances of the name is in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1275, where a William le Viker is mentioned.
The name Vickers can be traced back to several areas within England, particularly the northern counties of Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Westmorland, where the occupation of farm bailiff was common. Over time, as the name spread, it also became associated with certain place names, such as Vicar's Cross in Cheshire and Vicar's Hill in Hertfordshire.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive record of landowners and tenants in England, there are no direct references to the surname Vickers. However, variations of the name, such as Vicar and Vikere, are listed, suggesting that the occupation and name were already in use at that time.
Notable historical figures with the surname Vickers include:
1. John Vickers (1587-1663), an English Puritan minister and author.
2. Thomas Vickers (1733-1784), an English clockmaker and inventor known for his work on the marine chronometer.
3. Frances Vickers (1785-1868), an English novelist and poet.
4. William Vickers (1839-1923), an English industrialist and founder of the Vickers armaments company.
5. Geoffrey Vickers (1894-1982), an English philosopher and systems theorist.
Throughout history, the surname Vickers has been associated with various professions, from clergymen and writers to industrialists and philosophers, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and contributions of those who bore this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vickers
Among Census respondents with the surname Vickers, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.9%. The next largest groups are Black (15.7%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Vickers 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 Vickers surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.9% · 16,009
- Black or African American15.7% · 3,313
- Two or more races4.3% · 901
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 635
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 124
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 101
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vickers
Vickers 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
#1,625
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,176
+632 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 7.52
Rank movement Down 90 places
2020
#1,668
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,083
-1,093 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 7.05
Rank movement Down 43 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,535 | 21,544 | 7.99 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,625 | 22,176 | 7.52 | +632 bearers (+2.9%) | Down 90 places |
| 2020 | #1,668 | 21,083 | 7.05 | -1,093 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 43 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 Vickers 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 | #1,625 | #1,668 | -2.6% |
| Count | 22,176 | 21,083 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 7.52 | 7.05 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vickers bearers went from 22,176 to 21,083 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 43 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,625 to #1,668.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Vickers
FAQ
Vickers surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vickers?
Name Census estimates that about 24,176 living Americans carry the surname Vickers. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 14,177 residents.
How common is Vickers?
Vickers ranks #1,668 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.05 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 21,083 people with the surname Vickers. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (24,176), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.05 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Vickers.
Has Vickers become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vickers went from 22,176 recorded bearers to 21,083. That is a decrease of 1,093 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,625 to #1,668.
What does the Census say about the background of Vickers?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vickers, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.9%. The next largest groups are Black (15.7%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Vickers in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.9% (16,009 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vickers appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.9%), Black (15.7%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Vickers (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 Vickers mean?
An occupational surname referring to a person who made candlewicks, from the Old English word "weoce" meaning wick. 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 Vickers (7.05 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 common is the surname Vickers?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Vickers, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.