The Vanmeter surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 8,305 people carried this name — #4,281 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 35,500 people counted. That is up 4% from 7,981 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Vanmeter surname

Borrowed from Dutch van Meter.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Vanmeter» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

19 families named Vanmeter, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 122 people lived in those households, 6.4 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: Vanmeter, Vanmeeter, Vanmeetor, Vanmetre. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Virginia 11
Pennsylvania 8

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 266 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Vanmeter in American newspapers,
1899–1918.

Newspaper page from The Covington Leader carrying the name Vanmeter
The Covington Leader 1918-09-12
Newspaper page from The Commonwealth carrying the name Vanmeter
The Commonwealth 1899-07-14
Newspaper page from The Commonwealth carrying the name Vanmeter
The Commonwealth 1899-03-10

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 10,333 pages in all carry the name.

Who carried it

People named Vanmeter,
with a public archive behind them.

  • John I. Vanmeter
    John I. Vanmeter 1798–1875 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0.

In the public record

People named Vanmeter,
in the records of 3 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States430 records

430 records of the Vanmeter name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 266
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 113
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 22
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 14
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 7
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 4
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Robert D. Vanmeter

    Born 1923 in Illinois. Enlisted 1943 at Peoria; route man from Sangamon County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1994, buried at Camp Butler National Cemetery, Illinois.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Larry Eugene Vanmeter

    Born 1947; from Columbus Grove, Ohio. U.S. Army, medical equipment repairer; died of wounds 1968 in South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record William C. Vanmeter

    Arrived at New York in 1872 aboard the Republic from Liverpool, aged 52; clergyman.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 430 records for Vanmeter in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada3 records

3 records of the Vanmeter name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 2
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  1. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record George Van Meter

    Died in service in 1942.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Oliver C. Vanmeter

    Married 1882 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Mary E. Vanmeter

    Married 1885 in Colchester, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Netherlands2 records

2 records of the Vanmeter name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 1
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Frans van Meter

    Died 1921 in 's-Gravenhage, aged 38; merchant.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Anna Elisabeth van Meter

    Buried in 1811 in Vlissingen.

    Open Archives, Zeeuws Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Vanmeter.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Vanmeter is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Vanmeter volume
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