Explore the Family Name Van Wyk
The meaning of Van Wyk
Dutch: variant, mostly archaic or Americanized, of Van Wijk, a habitational name for someone from any of the many places in the Netherlands named Wijk, from wijk ‘district, settlement’. The surname Van Wyk is most common in South Africa; it is also established in Namibia. See also Van Wyck.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Van Wyk in the United States?
Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Van Wyk saw notable increases in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it sat at rank 45482, but soared to 15183 by 2010 - an impressive increase of 66.62%. The actual count of people with this surname also saw a massive surge, moving from 443 in 2000 to 1940 in 2010, marking a growth of 337.92%. The proportion of people with this surname per 100,000 also increased significantly from 0.16 to 0.66, indicating a rise of 312.5%.
2000 | 2010 | Change | |
---|---|---|---|
Rank | #45,482 | #15,183 | 66.62% |
Count | 443 | 1,940 | 337.92% |
Proportion per 100k | 0.16 | 0.66 | 312.5% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Van Wyk
In terms of ethnicity, based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the majority of individuals with the Van Wyk surname identified as White in both 2000 and 2010, with a slight decrease from 96.16% to 95.57%. The percentage of those identifying as Hispanic rose slightly from 1.35% to 1.86%, showing a change of 37.78%. Interestingly, the category of Two or more races and Black appeared in 2010, with 0.98% and 0.77% respectively. However, the Asian/Pacific Islander category disappeared in 2010, dropping from 1.13% in 2000. There were no recorded individuals identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native for either year.
2000 | 2010 | Change | |
---|---|---|---|
White | 96.16% | 95.57% | -0.61% |
Hispanic | 1.35% | 1.86% | 37.78% |
Two or More Races | 0% | 0.98% | 0% |
Black | 0% | 0.77% | 0% |
Asian/Pacific Islander | 1.13% | 0% | 0% |
American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Van Wyk ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Van Wyk is French & German, which comprises 56.1% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are British & Irish (22.4%) and Scandinavian (6.6%). Additional ancestries include Eastern European, Spanish & Portuguese, Korean, Indigenous American, and Italian.
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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
---|---|
French & German | 56.1% |
British & Irish | 22.4% |
Scandinavian | 6.6% |
Other | 14.9% |
Possible origins of the surname Van Wyk
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Van Wyk have recent ancestry locations spanning a few countries, mostly in the Netherlands, and Germany.
RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
---|---|
North Holland, Netherlands | 61.60% |
South Holland, Netherlands | 60.30% |
Gelderland, Netherlands | 58.90% |
North Rhine Westphalia, Germany | 57.50% |
West Midlands, United Kingdom | 56.20% |
What Van Wyk haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Van Wyk is O-F2415, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup O-F2415 is descended from haplogroup O-M1359. Other common haplogroups include E-M183 and O-F2859, which are predominantly found among people with European and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Van Wyk surname are: H1, U2_3_4_7_8_9, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Your paternal lineage may be linked to the Cham
One of the many populations harboring members of haplogroup O1b1a1a1a1 is the Cham ethnic group, a group of people who speak Austronesian languages in Mainland Southeast Asia. Austronesian languages make up a language family that is extremely large and widespread, comprising over 350 million people on islands such as Madagascar, Easter Island, and many others. However, Austronesian languages are less common on mainland Asia, with a notable exception being the Chamic language. Research suggests that ancestors of the Cham people migrated from Southeast Asian islands to the mainland around the year 500 BCE, and that early Cham populations quickly began mixing with indigenous southern Vietnamese populations. As a result, the Chamic language now has words that were borrowed from languages spoken by indigenous Vietnamese people. It is likely that an ancestral Kinh population was one of the populations that mixed with the Cham people shortly after their migration to mainland Asia.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname Van Wyk have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Traits
Cheek Dimples
Small indentations that appear on the cheeks when a person smiles.
"Van Wyk" Surname 31.2%
23andMe Users 37.6%
Habits
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Van Wyk" Surname 10.9%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Van Wyk?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Van Wyk are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition