Explore the Family Name Vanier

The meaning of Vanier

French: variant of Vannier. History: Guillaume Vanier dit Lafontaine from Honfleur in Calvados, France, married Madeleine Bailly in Quebec City, QC, in 1672. Some characteristic forenames: French Fernand, Marcel, Adrien, Andre, Armand, Aurel, Gilles, Jacques, Pierrette, Serge.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Vanier in the United States?

According to the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Vanier has seen an increase in popularity over a decade. In 2000, it was ranked 43,157th and had 472 individuals bearing the name. By 2010, the rank had climbed to 39,659 with 554 people carrying this surname, indicating an 8.11% improvement in rank and a 17.37% increase in count. The proportion of the population with the surname Vanier per 100,000 also showed an upward trend, rising by 11.76%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#43,157	#39,659	8.11%
Count	472	554	17.37%
Proportion per 100k	0.17	0.19	11.76%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Vanier

As for the ethnic identity associated with the surname Vanier, the Decennial U.S. Census data offers some interesting insights. In 2000, 87.92% of those with this surname identified as White, decreasing slightly to 86.64% in 2010. The proportion who identified as Black rose from 4.03% to 5.42%, marking a 34.49% increase. The percentage of those reporting as Hispanic also increased from 1.91% to 2.35%, a 23.04% change. The group identifying as two or more races also saw growth, up 49.21% from 2.54% to 3.79%. However, data shows that there were no individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian and Alaskan Native in 2010, unlike in 2000 where they accounted for 1.48% and 2.12% respectively.

	2000	2010	Change
White	87.92%	86.64%	-1.46%
Black	4.03%	5.42%	34.49%
Two or More Races	2.54%	3.79%	49.21%
Hispanic	1.91%	2.35%	23.04%
Asian/Pacific Islander	1.48%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	2.12%	0%	0%