2000
#18,927
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,334
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.49
Rare Last name
Facey
A medieval nickname for someone with a bright or cheerful expression.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,375 Americans carry the last name Facey. That puts it at #13,946 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.69 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 144,318 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Facey surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Facey with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.4K
1 in 144,318
Census rank
#13,946
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,071 bearers of the surname Facey in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.69 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13946th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Facey, the largest self-reported group is Black at 63.4%. The next largest groups are White (24.6%) and Hispanic (5.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Facey
The surname Facey has its origins in England, with records dating back to the 14th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old French word "face," which means "face" or "countenance." The name likely originated as a nickname or descriptive name for someone with a distinctive facial feature or expression.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Hearth Tax records of 1673, where a John Facey is listed as a resident of Worcestershire. The name also appears in various parish records from the 16th and 17th centuries across counties like Devon, Somerset, and Gloucestershire.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a land survey commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are no direct references to the surname Facey. However, there are mentions of place names that may be related, such as Faceby in Yorkshire, which could have been the origin of a locational surname.
Notable individuals with the surname Facey throughout history include:
1. John Facey (1577-1641), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge from 1624 until his death.
2. Thomas Facey (1805-1884), an English architect and surveyor who designed several notable buildings in London, including the former Lambeth Palace Library.
3. Phillip Facey (1835-1912), a British civil engineer and surveyor who oversaw the construction of several railway lines in India during the latter half of the 19th century.
4. Reginald Facey (1879-1951), an Australian cricketer who played domestic cricket for New South Wales in the early 20th century.
5. Percival Facey (1913-1982), a Jamaican politician and lawyer who served as the Minister of Education and Youth in the 1960s and played a significant role in reforming the island's education system.
The name Facey has also been associated with various place names and older spellings, such as Facewell in Northamptonshire, Facebury in Wiltshire, and Facehay in Staffordshire, all of which could have contributed to the development of the surname over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Facey
Among Census respondents with the surname Facey, the largest self-reported group is Black at 63.4%. The next largest groups are White (24.6%) and Hispanic (5.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Facey bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Facey surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American63.4% · 1,312
- White24.6% · 509
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 122
- Two or more races5.4% · 112
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Facey
Facey appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#16,415
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,753
+419 bearers (+31.4%)
Per 100,000 0.59
Rank movement Up 2,512 places
2020
#13,946
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,071
+318 bearers (+18.1%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Up 2,469 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #18,927 | 1,334 | 0.49 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,415 | 1,753 | 0.59 | +419 bearers (+31.4%) | Up 2,512 places |
| 2020 | #13,946 | 2,071 | 0.69 | +318 bearers (+18.1%) | Up 2,469 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Facey surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #16,415 | #13,946 | 15.0% |
| Count | 1,753 | 2,071 | 18.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.59 | 0.69 | 17.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Facey bearers went from 1,753 to 2,071 (+18.1% change). The surname moved up 2,469 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,415 to #13,946.
FAQ
Facey surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Facey?
Name Census estimates that about 2,375 living Americans carry the surname Facey. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 144,318 residents.
How common is Facey?
Facey ranks #13,946 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.69 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,071 people with the surname Facey. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,375), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.69 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.69 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Facey.
Has Facey become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Facey went from 1,753 recorded bearers to 2,071. That is an increase of 318 (+18.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #16,415 to #13,946.
What does the Census say about the background of Facey?
Among Census respondents with the surname Facey, the largest self-reported group is Black at 63.4%. The next largest groups are White (24.6%) and Hispanic (5.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Facey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.4% (1,312 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Facey appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (63.4%), White (24.6%), Hispanic (5.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Facey (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Facey mean?
A medieval nickname for someone with a bright or cheerful expression. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Facey (0.69 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Facey?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.