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Name Lineage

    The surname Venter

    A German surname, carried by 653 people in the United States.

    2 syllables Soundex V536

    Venter: #34,618 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#1,000Archer#10,001Dubon Venter #34,618, 653 people Venter: #34,618 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#100Jimenez Venter #34,618, 653 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Venter is more common than 78.7% of them.

    Origin

    German origin

    Borrowed from German and Dutch Venter. This surname is mostly found in South Africa.

    One of 1,101 German surnames on this site.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 653 people named Venter in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 472,811 Americans. That is up 16% since 2000, when the Census counted 565.

    #34,618
    rank among US surnames
    653
    people in 2010
    0.2
    per 100,000 Americans
    +15.6%
    change since 2000 (was #37,145)

    Who is named Venter

    Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

    87% of people named Venter identified as white (not Hispanic), 8.4% as Black (not Hispanic) and 1.8% as two or more races.

    • White (not Hispanic) 87%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 8.4%
    • Two or more races 1.8%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 1.2%
    The Census suppresses very small shares to protect privacy; Asian & Pacific Islander, Native American are not shown.

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Famous Venters

    1 notable person on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Craig Venter
      American biotechnologist and businessman (1946–2026)

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Surnames that sound like Venter

    Venter has the Soundex code V536, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code V536.

    Other German surnames

    All 1,101 German surnames

    Questions

    Where does the surname Venter come from?
    Borrowed from German and Dutch Venter. This surname is mostly found in South Africa.
    How common is the surname Venter?
    653 people in the United States had the surname Venter in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 472,811 Americans. It ranked 34,618th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Venter?
    In the 2010 Census, 87% of people named Venter identified as white (not Hispanic), and 8.4% as Black (not Hispanic).
    Who is the most famous person named Venter?
    Craig Venter, American biotechnologist and businessman (1946–2026).
    Where is the surname Venter most common?
    Wikidata records people named Venter in the United States.
    Is the surname Venter getting more or less common?
    More common. 565 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 653 in 2010, up 16%.