Fallon
A French name meaning "a town or village near a craggy hill".
Name Census estimates that about 11,565 living Americans carry the first name Fallon. It is a predominantly female name (94.9% of registrations). The average person named Fallon today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Fallon births was 1982 (618 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Fallon. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Fallon with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
12K
~ 1 in 29,637 Americans
Peak year
1982
618 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#736
Tracked since 1972
Census
Fallon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 8,969 people with the first name Fallon, which placed it at #2,640 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
#2,640
National first-name rank
People counted
9.0K
8,969 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
70.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fallon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fallon is White at 70.4%. The next largest groups are Black (15.2%) and Hispanic (6.3%). 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 Fallon 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 Fallon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.4% · 6,314
- Black or African American15.2% · 1,365
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 562
- Two or more races6.0% · 535
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 110
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 83
Gender
Gender distribution for Fallon
Fallon leans heavily female at 94.9% of total registrations, but 604 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Fallon as a male name
- Ranked #4,592 in 2024
- 22 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2015 (37 births)
Fallon as a female name
- Ranked #736 in 2024
- 382 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1982 (611 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Fallon leans strongly female. 8,483 people counted with this name were female (94.6%), compared with 486 male bearers (5.4%).
Popularity
Fallon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Fallon from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 3,396 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Fallon remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Fallon 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 Fallon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Fallons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 42 states and territories. Texas, California, New York recorded the most babies named Fallon, while Delaware, Maine, Rhode Island recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 213 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Fallon
The name Fallon is of Irish origin and is derived from the Gaelic word "fallamhain," which means "leader" or "ruler." The name has its roots in ancient Celtic culture and mythology, where it was associated with strength, bravery, and authority.
In early Irish history, the name Fallon was often given to sons of chieftains or kings, as it symbolized their potential to lead their people. It was a popular name among the ruling classes and was seen as a mark of respect and admiration.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Fallon can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. In the year 1022, a man named Fallon Mac Aedha is mentioned as the King of Aileach, a powerful kingdom in what is now modern-day County Donegal, Ireland.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Fallon. One of the most famous was Eoghan Ruadh O'Neill (1590-1649), an Irish military leader who played a prominent role in the Irish Confederate Wars of the 1640s. He was also known as Owen Roe O'Neill or Fallon Ruadh (Red Fallon).
Another notable figure was Fallon O'Byrne (1612-1655), an Irish soldier and landowner who fought in the Irish Confederate Wars and the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. He was a member of the powerful O'Byrne clan and was known for his military prowess and leadership.
In the 19th century, Fallon Kemble (1808-1859) was an American actress and playwright. She was born in London and was part of the famous Kemble family of actors. She is best known for her roles in Shakespeare's plays and for her advocacy of women's rights.
Another notable figure was Fallon Stafford (1865-1920), an American author and journalist. She was born in Iowa and wrote several novels and short stories, including "The Haunted Photograph" and "The Passing of a Soul."
In more recent history, Fallon Fox (born in 1975) is an American mixed martial artist and former soldier. She is notable for being one of the first openly transgender athletes in professional sports.
While the name Fallon has its roots in Irish culture and history, it has since gained popularity in other parts of the world and is now used as a given name for both males and females.
People
Fallon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Fallon 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
Fallon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Fallon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11,565 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Fallon 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 29,637 US residents.
Is Fallon a common name?
We classify Fallon as "Uncommon". It ranks above 97.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11,888 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Fallon most popular?
The single biggest year for Fallon was 1982, when 618 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Fallon is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Fallon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 8,969 people with the name Fallon, or 2.97 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,640 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 Fallon 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 Fallon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Fallon leans strongly female. 8,483 people counted with this name were female (94.6%), compared with 486 male bearers (5.4%). 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 Fallon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fallon is White at 70.4%. The next largest groups are Black (15.2%) and Hispanic (6.3%). 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 Fallon most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Fallon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.4% (6,314 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 Fallon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Fallon a female name?
Yes, 94.9% of people registered as Fallon in the SSA data are female. 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 Fallon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Fallon 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 Fallon 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 named Fallon?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.