Fernie
A masculine name meaning "brave journey" or "dweller near the fern plants".
Name Census estimates that about 263 living Americans carry the first name Fernie. It is a predominantly male name (96.9% of registrations). The average person named Fernie today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Fernie births was 1994 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Fernie. 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.
People living today
263
~ 1 in 1,303,248 Americans
Peak year
1994
15 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
2001 SSA rank
#4,469
Tracked since 1918
Census
Fernie in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 309 people with the first name Fernie, which placed it at #28,877 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
#28,877
National first-name rank
People counted
309
309 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
70.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fernie
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fernie is Hispanic at 70.2%. The next largest groups are White (20.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.2%). 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 Fernie 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 Fernie at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino70.2% · 217
- White20.4% · 63
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.2% · 16
- Black or African American2.9% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 3
- Two or more races0.3% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Fernie
Fernie leans heavily male at 96.9% of total registrations, but 11 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Fernie as a male name
- Ranked #11,118 in 2001
- 5 male births in 2001
- Peak: 1994 (15 births)
Fernie as a female name
- Ranked #4,469 in 1939
- 5 female births in 1939
- Peak: 1918 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Fernie leans strongly male. 268 people counted with this name were male (87.0%), compared with 40 female bearers (13.0%).
Popularity
Fernie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Fernie from the 1910s through to the 2000s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 62 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Fernie 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 Fernie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Fernies live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Fernie, while North Carolina, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 33 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Fernie
The given name Fernie has its origins in the Old French language and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old French word "ferne," which means "fern" or "bracken." The name likely originated as a descriptive nickname or a reference to someone who lived near an area abundant with ferns.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Fernie can be found in the 13th-century French epic poem "Le Roman de la Rose." In this literary work, a character named Fernie is mentioned, though little is known about the historical context or significance of this particular character.
During the Middle Ages, the name Fernie gained popularity in parts of France and eventually spread to other regions of Europe. It was often associated with individuals who had a connection to nature or lived in rural areas surrounded by ferns or other vegetation.
One notable individual who bore the name Fernie was a 14th-century French poet and troubadour. While little is known about his life, his works were celebrated for their lyrical beauty and evocative descriptions of nature.
In the 16th century, a Scottish scholar and theologian named Fernie Douglas (1475-1545) made significant contributions to the field of religious studies. His writings and teachings influenced the intellectual discourse of his time and helped shape the understanding of Christian doctrine.
Another historical figure with the name Fernie was Fernie Brock (1768-1841), an English artist and engraver known for his intricate landscape paintings and etchings. His works captured the beauty of the English countryside and were highly regarded during his lifetime.
In the 19th century, Fernie Williamson (1832-1904) was a prominent Australian politician and advocate for workers' rights. He played a crucial role in the establishment of labor unions and the fight for better working conditions in the Australian colonies.
While the name Fernie may not have been as widely used as some other given names, it has left a notable imprint throughout history, particularly in the fields of literature, art, and social activism.
People
Fernie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Fernie 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
Fernie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Fernie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 263 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Fernie 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 1,303,248 US residents.
Is Fernie a common name?
We classify Fernie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 355 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Fernie most popular?
The single biggest year for Fernie was 1994, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Fernie is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Fernie in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 309 people with the name Fernie, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,877 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 Fernie 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 Fernie?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Fernie leans strongly male. 268 people counted with this name were male (87.0%), compared with 40 female bearers (13.0%). 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 Fernie?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fernie is Hispanic at 70.2%. The next largest groups are White (20.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.2%). 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 Fernie most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Fernie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.2% (217 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 Fernie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Fernie a male name?
Yes, 96.9% of people registered as Fernie 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 Fernie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Fernie 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 Fernie 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 Americans are named Fernie?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Fernie at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.