Fuller
An occupational surname originally referring to a cloth-fuller, someone who thickened wool.
Name Census estimates that about 221 living Americans carry the first name Fuller. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Fuller today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Fuller births was 1924 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Fuller. 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
221
~ 1 in 1,550,925 Americans
Peak year
1924
14 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,516
Tracked since 1886
Popularity
Fuller: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Fuller from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 99 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Fuller remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Fuller 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 Fuller 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 Fuller
The given name Fuller has its origins in the Old English word "fullere", which referred to a person who worked as a cloth fuller, responsible for processing and thickening woolen cloth. This occupation was prominent during the medieval period in England and other parts of Europe.
The name Fuller can be traced back to the early Middle Ages, around the 11th century. It was initially used as an occupational surname, indicating a person's trade or profession. Over time, the surname evolved into a first name, particularly in English-speaking regions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Fuller can be found in the Domesday Book, a manuscript compiled in 1086 on the orders of William the Conqueror. It lists several individuals with the surname "Fullere" or variations thereof.
In the realm of literature, the name Fuller appears in Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales," written in the late 14th century. One of the characters, the Wife of Bath, mentions a man named "Jakke Fuller" in her prologue.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Fuller. One prominent example is Thomas Fuller (1608-1661), an English churchman and historian known for his scholarly works, including "The History of the Worthies of England" and "The Church History of Britain."
Another notable figure is Andrew Fuller (1754-1815), an English Baptist minister and theologian who played a significant role in the Evangelical Revival movement. His writings, such as "The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation," had a profound impact on Christian thought.
In the field of architecture, Sarah Fuller (1660-1733) was an English architect and one of the first professional female architects in Britain. She is known for her work on several prominent buildings, including the Belvedere at Chiswick House.
Moving to the United States, Melville Weston Fuller (1833-1910) served as the eighth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1888 to 1910. He presided over several landmark cases, including Plessy v. Ferguson, which upheld the "separate but equal" doctrine.
Another notable American figure was Richard Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983), an architect, systems theorist, author, and inventor. He is best known for his innovative geodesic domes and his concept of "Spaceship Earth," which highlighted the interconnectedness of all life on our planet.
People
Fuller + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Fuller 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
Fuller: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Fuller?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 221 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Fuller 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 1,550,925 US residents.
Is Fuller a common name?
We classify Fuller as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 460 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Fuller most popular?
The single biggest year for Fuller was 1924, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Fuller is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Fuller a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Fuller 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.
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.