Fountain
A given name derived from the natural water source and symbolic of life.
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Fountain. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Fountain today is around 94 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Fountain births was 1919 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Fountain. 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 Fountain is about 94 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Fountains were born before 1942.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Fountain. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
1919
11 babies that year
Average age
94
years old
1942 SSA rank
#2,433
Tracked since 1888
Census
Fountain in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 103 people with the first name Fountain, which placed it at #53,018 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
#53,018
National first-name rank
People counted
103
103 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
53.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fountain
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fountain is White at 53.4%. The next largest groups are Black (35.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.8%). 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 Fountain 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 Fountain at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White53.4% · 55
- Black or African American35.0% · 36
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.8% · 6
- Two or more races2.9% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 1
Popularity
Fountain: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Fountain from the 1880s through to the 1940s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 57 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Fountain 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 Fountain during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Fountain
The name Fountain has its origins in Old French and Latin, derived from the word "fontaine," which means "spring" or "source of water." It was initially used as a topographic surname, referring to someone who lived near a spring or fountain. The earliest recorded use of the name dates back to the 13th century in France.
During the Middle Ages, the name Fountain was associated with religious and spiritual connotations. In Christian symbolism, fountains were often seen as representations of the living water that nourishes the soul. The name may have been given to individuals who lived near a sacred spring or a place of religious significance.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name Fountain was Fountain de Briante, a French nobleman who lived in the late 13th century. He was a prominent figure in the court of King Philip IV of France, known as Philip the Fair.
In the 16th century, the name Fountain gained popularity in England, likely due to the influx of French Huguenot refugees fleeing religious persecution. Sir Fountain Bathurst (1658-1694) was an English politician and member of parliament during the reign of King William III.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name Fountain was particularly popular among Puritan families in New England. Fountain Woodhouse (1638-1712) was a prominent early settler in Connecticut and served as a deputy to the General Court.
Another notable bearer of the name was Fountain Elwin (1775-1858), an English clergyman and author. He wrote extensively on religious and moral topics, including works such as "The Influence of Christianity on the Character and Conduct of Man" and "The Domestic Life of a Christian Family."
In the 19th century, Fountain Pitts (1808-1888) was an American businessman and philanthropist from Massachusetts. He made his fortune in the cotton industry and was known for his charitable contributions to educational and religious institutions.
The name Fountain has also been used in literature and popular culture. Fountain Hughes (1890-1969) was an African American writer and folk artist from Virginia, known for his autobiographical works and storytelling.
While the name Fountain has never been extremely common, it has maintained a presence throughout history, often associated with spiritual and natural themes. Its origins and historical references reflect a connection to water sources and the idea of nourishment and renewal.
People
Fountain + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Fountain 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
Fountain: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Fountain?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Fountain 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Fountain a common name?
We classify Fountain as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 139 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Fountain most popular?
The single biggest year for Fountain was 1919, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Fountain is about 94 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Fountain in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 103 people with the name Fountain, or 0.03 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #53,018 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 Fountain 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 Fountain?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Fountain leans strongly male. 91 people counted with this name were male (88.3%), compared with 12 female bearers (11.7%). 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 Fountain?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fountain is White at 53.4%. The next largest groups are Black (35.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.8%). 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 Fountain most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Fountain in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.4% (55 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 Fountain in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Fountain a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Fountain 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 Fountain still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Fountain 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 Fountain 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 share the name Fountain?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.