Ferrill
An English surname derived from the town Farewell, England.
Name Census estimates that about 2 living Americans carry the first name Ferrill. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ferrill today is around 86 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ferrill births was 1932 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ferrill. 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 Ferrill is about 86 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Ferrills were born before 1950.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ferrill. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
2
~ 1 in 171,377,169 Americans
Peak year
1932
5 babies that year
Average age
86
years old
1936 SSA rank
#3,719
Tracked since 1932
Popularity
Ferrill: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Ferrill 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 Ferrill during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 10 | 0 | 10 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Ferrill
The given name Ferrill is believed to have originated from the Old English word "feorr," meaning "far" or "distant." This name likely emerged in the early medieval period in Britain, particularly in regions where Anglo-Saxon influence was strong.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ferrill can be traced back to the 11th century, when it appeared in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landholdings and wealth commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name was likely used to describe someone who had traveled from a distant place or had undertaken a long journey.
In the 12th century, Ferrill gained prominence as the name of a minor English nobleman, Ferrill of Winchcombe, who was known for his participation in the Third Crusade led by Richard the Lionheart. This association with the Crusades may have contributed to the name's enduring popularity among Christian families in subsequent centuries.
During the Renaissance period, the name Ferrill gained literary significance when it was mentioned in Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, one of the most renowned works of Middle English literature. In the prologue to the Clerk's Tale, Chaucer refers to a character named Ferrill, suggesting the name's usage among the gentry and educated classes of the time.
Notable historical figures who bore the name Ferrill include:
1. Ferrill the Red (c. 1050-1120), an English knight and landowner who fought alongside William the Conqueror during the Norman Conquest of England.
2. Ferrill de Montfort (c. 1180-1244), a French nobleman and military commander who played a significant role in the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars in southern France.
3. Ferrill Hayward (c. 1500-1572), an English explorer and navigator who accompanied Sir Francis Drake on his famous circumnavigation of the globe between 1577 and 1580.
4. Ferrill Beaumont (1616-1699), an English dramatist and poet who was a prominent figure in the literary circles of the Restoration period.
5. Ferrill Gaskell (1810-1884), a British industrialist and philanthropist who played a pivotal role in the development of the textile industry in Manchester during the Industrial Revolution.
While the name Ferrill has waned in popularity in recent times, its historical significance and associations with exploration, nobility, and literature have left an indelible mark on the rich tapestry of English nomenclature.
People
Ferrill + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ferrill 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
Ferrill: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ferrill?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ferrill 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 Ferrill a common name?
We classify Ferrill 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, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ferrill most popular?
The single biggest year for Ferrill was 1932, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ferrill is about 86 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 Ferrill in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ferrill a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ferrill 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 Ferrill still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ferrill 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 Ferrill 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 common is the name Ferrill?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.