2000
#9,795
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,048
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.13
Rare Last name
Voight
Derived from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements "folk," meaning "people," and "hard," meaning "brave or strong."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,346 Americans carry the last name Voight. That puts it at #10,494 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.98 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 102,437 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Voight 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
3.3K
1 in 102,437
Census rank
#10,494
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,918 bearers of the surname Voight in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.98 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10494th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Voight, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Voight
The surname "Voight" is of German origin, with roots dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Germanic personal name "Folchart" or "Volkhart," which translates to "people brave" or "army brave." The name likely originated in the southern regions of Germany, particularly Bavaria and Austria.
In the 13th century, the name appeared in various records and manuscripts, often with different spellings such as "Volcht," "Volght," or "Folchart." One of the earliest documented instances of the name was found in the Codex Traditionum Ecclesiae Coloniensis, a medieval manuscript from the Archdiocese of Cologne, dated around 1237.
During the Middle Ages, the name was associated with several notable individuals. One such person was Volchtarius de Nuremberg, a merchant and landowner from Nuremberg, who lived in the late 14th century. Another was Volchthart von Regensburg, a renowned scholar and theologian who taught at the University of Vienna in the early 15th century.
As the name spread across Europe, it adopted various regional variations. In the Netherlands, for instance, the name was sometimes spelled as "Vogt" or "Voicht." One notable bearer of this variation was Pieter Voicht van der Velde, a Dutch painter and engraver who lived from 1607 to 1667.
In the 16th century, the name appeared in the records of several German noble families, including the Voights of Saxony and the Voights of Hesse. One prominent figure from this era was Johann Voight, a German historian and geographer who lived from 1516 to 1592.
The name also found its way to England, where it was sometimes anglicized as "Voight" or "Voyt." One prominent English bearer of the name was Sir John Voight, a politician and landowner who served as a member of parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in the late 16th century.
Another notable figure was Johann Voight, a German composer and organist who lived from 1667 to 1719. He was renowned for his work in the Baroque era and served as the court composer for the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
As the name spread across Europe and beyond, it continued to evolve and take on various forms, reflecting the cultural and linguistic diversity of the regions it encountered.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Voight
Among Census respondents with the surname Voight, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Voight 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 Voight surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.2% · 2,633
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 124
- Two or more races3.4% · 99
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 28
- Black or African American0.7% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Voight
Voight 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
#10,382
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,103
+55 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 1.05
Rank movement Down 587 places
2020
#10,494
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,918
-185 bearers (-6.0%)
Per 100,000 0.98
Rank movement Down 112 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,795 | 3,048 | 1.13 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,382 | 3,103 | 1.05 | +55 bearers (+1.8%) | Down 587 places |
| 2020 | #10,494 | 2,918 | 0.98 | -185 bearers (-6.0%) | Down 112 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 Voight 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 | #10,382 | #10,494 | -1.1% |
| Count | 3,103 | 2,918 | -6.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.05 | 0.98 | -7.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Voight bearers went from 3,103 to 2,918 (-6.0% change). The surname moved down 112 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,382 to #10,494.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Voight
FAQ
Voight surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Voight?
Name Census estimates that about 3,346 living Americans carry the surname Voight. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 102,437 residents.
How common is Voight?
Voight ranks #10,494 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.98 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,918 people with the surname Voight. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,346), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.98 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.98 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Voight.
Has Voight become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Voight went from 3,103 recorded bearers to 2,918. That is a decrease of 185 (-6.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,382 to #10,494.
What does the Census say about the background of Voight?
Among Census respondents with the surname Voight, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Voight in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.2% (2,633 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Voight appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.2%), Hispanic (4.2%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Voight (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 Voight mean?
Derived from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements "folk," meaning "people," and "hard," meaning "brave or strong." 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 Voight (0.98 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 people are called Voight?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Voight on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.