2000
#126,400
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Fahland
A surname of German origin meaning a person from or associated with the region Fahland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 122 Americans carry the last name Fahland. That puts it at #152,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,809,462 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fahland 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.
Bearers in the US
122
1 in 2,809,462
Census rank
#152,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
106
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 106 bearers of the surname Fahland in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fahland, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fahland
The surname Fahland has its origins in the German language and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is believed to have originated in the region of Saxony, specifically in the areas around the cities of Leipzig and Dresden. Fahland is derived from the Old German word "falen," which means "to fade" or "to wither," and the suffix "-land," which refers to a region or area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Fahland can be found in the Liber Censuum, a medieval manuscript from the 14th century that documented tax records and land holdings in the Holy Roman Empire. In this text, a family with the name "Falant" is mentioned as residing in the village of Rothenburg, near Leipzig.
During the 16th century, the Fahland surname began to appear more frequently in various historical records and documents. In 1547, a merchant named Hans Fahland was documented as conducting business in the city of Leipzig, and his name was recorded in the city's trade guild records.
In the 17th century, a family with the surname Fahland was prominent in the town of Bautzen, located in the eastern part of Saxony. One notable member of this family was Johann Fahland (1620-1691), a renowned clockmaker who crafted intricate timepieces for the local nobility.
Another significant figure bearing the Fahland name was Friedrich Fahland (1782-1856), a German composer and musician from Dresden. He is best known for his contributions to the development of the German lieder, a genre of romantic art songs.
In the 19th century, the Fahland surname began to spread beyond the borders of Saxony. Heinrich Fahland (1845-1912), a German-born botanist, emigrated to the United States and became a prominent figure in the field of plant taxonomy, particularly for his work on the flora of the American Southwest.
Throughout history, several other notable individuals have carried the Fahland surname, including Karl Fahland (1905-1982), a German politician and member of the Nazi Party during World War II, and Constanze Fahland (born 1979), a contemporary German actress known for her roles in various television series and films.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fahland
Among Census respondents with the surname Fahland, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Fahland 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 Fahland surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.2% · 102
- Two or more races2.8% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fahland
Fahland 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
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-10 bearers (-8.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 17,741 places
2020
#152,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-9 bearers (-7.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,198 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #126,400 | 125 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-8.0%) | Down 17,741 places |
| 2020 | #152,339 | 106 | 0.04 | -9 bearers (-7.8%) | Down 8,198 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 Fahland 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 | #144,141 | #152,339 | -5.7% |
| Count | 115 | 106 | -7.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fahland bearers went from 115 to 106 (-7.8% change). The surname moved down 8,198 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #152,339.
FAQ
Fahland surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fahland?
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the surname Fahland. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,809,462 residents.
How common is Fahland?
Fahland ranks #152,339 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 106 people with the surname Fahland. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (122), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Fahland.
Has Fahland become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fahland went from 115 recorded bearers to 106. That is a decrease of 9 (-7.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #144,141 to #152,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Fahland?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fahland, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Fahland in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.2% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fahland appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.2%), Two or More Races (2.8%), American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%). 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 Fahland (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 Fahland mean?
A surname of German origin meaning a person from or associated with the region Fahland. 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 Fahland (0.04 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 people share the surname Fahland?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.