Fenner
Worker, derived from the Old English word for "traveler" or "wanderer".
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Fenner. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Fenner today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Fenner births was 1915 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Fenner. 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 Fenner with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Fenner. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
1915
6 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2012 SSA rank
#12,865
Tracked since 1914
Popularity
Fenner: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Fenner from the 1910s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 16 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Fenner remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Fenner 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 Fenner during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Fenners live
Origin
Meaning and history of Fenner
The name Fenner is an English name with origins dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old English word "fennere," which refers to a person who lived or worked near a fen or marsh. The name likely emerged in the marshy regions of medieval England, where many people earned their living through activities like hunting, fishing, or gathering resources from the wetlands.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Fenner can be found in the Domesday Book, a historical record compiled in 1086 under the orders of William the Conqueror. The name appears in various spellings, such as "Fennere" and "Fener," indicating its prevalence in certain parts of England during the 11th century.
Throughout the medieval period, the name Fenner was associated with individuals involved in occupations related to wetlands, such as fowlers, hunters, or fishermen. It was a common surname in areas like the Fens of eastern England, where the marshy landscape provided ample opportunities for these pursuits.
One notable historical figure bearing the name Fenner was William Fenner (c. 1600-1640), an English Puritan clergyman and author. He was a prominent figure in the religious debates of his time and wrote several influential works, including "The Soul's Looking-Glass" and "A Treatise of the Affections."
Another individual of note was Sir William Fenner (1612-1678), an English lawyer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament during the Commonwealth period. He was known for his involvement in the trial of King Charles I and his subsequent support for the Restoration of the monarchy under Charles II.
In the 18th century, Fenner Saunders (1718-1790) was a renowned English physician and author. He published several medical treatises, including "A Dissertation on the Mineral Waters of Derbyshire" and "A Treatise on the Cure of Ruptures."
Moving into the 19th century, Fenner Albert Cooper (1820-1880) was an American artist and painter known for his landscape and marine paintings. His works captured the natural beauty of New England and the coastal regions of the United States.
Finally, in the field of science, Thomas Fenner (1819-1892) was an American physician and naturalist who made significant contributions to the study of insects and their impact on agricultural crops. He is particularly remembered for his work on the Rocky Mountain locust and his efforts to combat insect infestations in the American West.
People
Fenner + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Fenner 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
Fenner: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Fenner?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Fenner 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 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Fenner a common name?
We classify Fenner as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 41 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Fenner most popular?
The single biggest year for Fenner was 1915, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Fenner is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Fenner in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Fenner a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Fenner 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 Fenner still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Fenner 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 Fenner 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Fenner as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.