Faber
A masculine Latin name meaning "artisan" or "craftsman".
Name Census estimates that about 2 living Americans carry the first name Faber. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Faber today is around 116 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Faber births was 1928 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Faber. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Faber is about 116 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Fabers were born before 1920.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Faber. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
2
~ 1 in 171,377,169 Americans
Peak year
1928
7 babies that year
Average age
116
years old
1931 SSA rank
#3,965
Tracked since 1914
Census
Faber in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 179 people with the first name Faber, which placed it at #41,133 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#41,133
National first-name rank
People counted
179
179 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
59.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Faber
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Faber is Hispanic at 59.2%. The next largest groups are White (34.6%) and Black (2.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Faber 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 name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Faber at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino59.2% · 106
- White34.6% · 62
- Black or African American2.8% · 5
- Two or more races2.8% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 1
Popularity
Faber: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Faber from the 1910s through to the 1930s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 33 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Faber remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Faber by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Faber during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Fabers live
Origin
Meaning and history of Faber
The name Faber originates from the Latin word "faber" meaning "craftsman" or "artisan". It was a common occupational surname in ancient Rome, referring to those who worked with their hands, such as blacksmiths, carpenters, and stonemasons.
During the Middle Ages, the name Faber spread across Europe, particularly in regions where Latin was widely used. In medieval times, it was not uncommon for individuals to adopt their occupation as a surname, which later evolved into a given name. The name Faber was often associated with skilled craftsmen and artists.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Faber can be found in the writings of the Roman philosopher Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BC – AD 65), who mentioned a person named Faber in his works. Additionally, the name appears in various medieval documents and records, including those of the Catholic Church.
Notable historical figures bearing the name Faber include Jacobus Faber Stapulensis (c. 1455 – 1536), a French Renaissance humanist and theologian who played a significant role in the intellectual and religious movements of his time. Another prominent figure was Basilius Faber (1520 – 1576), a German theologian and reformer who contributed to the Protestant Reformation.
In the field of science, we have Johann Matthias Faber (1592 – 1653), a German astronomer and mathematician known for his work on the motion of heavenly bodies. Jean-Claude Faber (1770 – 1833) was a French sculptor and engraver who created numerous works of art during the Neoclassical period.
The name Faber also has a connection to the arts, with Peter Faber (1506 – 1546), a Dutch Renaissance painter and engraver renowned for his religious and mythological scenes. Another notable figure is Johann Faber (1478 – 1541), a German composer and music theorist who made significant contributions to the development of polyphonic music.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who bore the name Faber, reflecting its long-standing association with craftsmanship, artistry, and intellectual pursuits.
People
Faber + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Faber as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Faber: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Faber?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Faber going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 171,377,169 US residents.
Is Faber a common name?
We classify Faber as "Very Rare". It ranks above 4.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 60 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Faber most popular?
The single biggest year for Faber was 1928, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Faber is about 116 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Faber in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 179 people with the name Faber, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,133 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Faber in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Faber?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Faber leans strongly male. 166 people counted with this name were male (94.9%), compared with 9 female bearers (5.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Faber?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Faber is Hispanic at 59.2%. The next largest groups are White (34.6%) and Black (2.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Faber most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Faber in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.2% (106 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Faber in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Faber a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Faber in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Faber still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Faber in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Faber can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Faber?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.