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

Fairchild, 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 Fairchild surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fairchild in America

Fairchild is the 2581st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fairchild surname appeared 13,993 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname Fairchild.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fairchild 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 Fairchild

The surname FAIRCHILD has its origins in England, where it first emerged in the 13th century. It is believed to be a habitational name, derived from the Old English words "faeger", meaning fair or beautiful, and "cild", meaning a young person or child. This suggests that the name may have originated from a place named after a fair or beautiful child, or a location associated with children.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the FAIRCHILD surname can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Huntingdonshire, dated 1273, which mentions a John Fayrechild. The name also appears in various other medieval records, such as the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex from 1327, which lists a William Fayrechild.

The FAIRCHILD surname has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was John Fairchild (c. 1384-1449), an English churchman who served as Bishop of Carlisle from 1429 until his death. Another prominent figure was Thomas Fairchild (1667-1729), an English gardener and botanist who is credited with introducing several plant species to England.

In the 18th century, Benjamin FAIRCHILD (1706-1786) was a prominent American clergyman and educator, serving as the second president of Harvard College from 1770 to 1773. His grandson, James Harris FAIRCHILD (1817-1887), was a prominent American theologian and educator who served as the third president of Oberlin College.

Another notable bearer of the FAIRCHILD surname was Charles E. FAIRCHILD (1904-1999), an American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded the Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation, a pioneering company in the development of aerial reconnaissance cameras and semiconductor technology.

The FAIRCHILD name has also been associated with various place names throughout England, such as Fairchild's Farm in Kent, Fairchild's Close in Buckinghamshire, and Fairchild's Meadow in Oxfordshire. These place names further reinforce the connection between the surname and its possible origins as a habitational name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fairchild

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

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 Fairchild 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 Fairchild 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 Fairchild was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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