Find out how popular the last name Fadden is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Fadden.

Fadden, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Fadden surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fadden in America

Fadden is the 18286th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fadden surname appeared 1,518 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Fadden.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fadden to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Fadden

The surname Fadden is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic "O'Fathaidh," meaning "descendant of Fathaidh." The name Fathaidh itself is believed to be a diminutive form of the Irish personal name "Fath," meaning "prophet" or "wise man."

The name can be traced back to County Longford, Ireland, where the O'Fathaidh clan held lands and prominence in the 11th and 12th centuries. Over time, the prefix "O'" was dropped, and the anglicized spelling "Fadden" emerged.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Annals of the Four Masters, a 17th-century chronicle of medieval Irish history. The annals mention an O'Fathaidh chieftain named Muircheartach O'Fathaidh, who was involved in a conflict with the O'Conors of Connacht in the year 1189.

In the 16th century, the Fadden family spread to other parts of Ireland, including County Westmeath and County Cavan. During this period, various spellings of the name emerged, such as Faden, Fadyn, and Faddyn.

Notable individuals with the surname Fadden include:

1. Thomas Fadden (c. 1707-1783), an Irish-born American merchant and landowner who settled in Philadelphia in the mid-18th century.
2. John Fadden (1779-1856), a Canadian farmer and politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada.
3. Edward Fadden (1840-1921), an Australian prospector and entrepreneur who played a pivotal role in the development of the goldfields in Western Australia.
4. Archibald Fadden (1861-1938), a Scottish-born Australian politician who served as a member of the Australian House of Representatives.
5. Arthur Fadden (1894-1973), an Australian politician who served as the 13th Prime Minister of Australia from 1941 to 1945.

While the surname Fadden is not among the most common in Ireland today, it remains a significant part of the country's rich surname heritage, tracing its roots back to the ancient Gaelic chieftains of County Longford.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fadden

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Fadden.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Fadden was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Fadden has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Fadden was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Fadden, please contact us.

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