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

Fairhurst, 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 Fairhurst surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fairhurst in America

Fairhurst is the 27556th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fairhurst surname appeared 874 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Fairhurst.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fairhurst 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 Fairhurst

The surname FAIRHURST originated in Lancashire, England in the 13th century. It is an English locational surname derived from the Old English words "faer" meaning fair or light-colored and "hyrst" meaning a wooded hill or grove. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a fair or light-colored wooded area.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Assize Court Rolls of Lancashire in 1246, where a Richard de Fairhurst is mentioned. The name also appears in the Lancashire Inquests of 1310 and 1311 as Fairehurst and Fayrhurst. These early spellings highlight the variations in the name over time.

In the 16th century, the FAIRHURST surname was particularly concentrated in the areas around Wigan and Warrington in Lancashire. The name is associated with several notable historical figures from these regions. John Fairhurst (1560-1624) was a prominent landowner and benefactor in Wigan, while William Fairhurst (1615-1690) was a respected member of the Warrington community and served as a churchwarden.

The FAIRHURST name also has ties to the English Civil War. Thomas Fairhurst (1620-1685) was a Royalist captain who fought for King Charles I and was later involved in the Penruddock Uprising of 1655. Another notable bearer of the name was Peter Fairhurst (1672-1745), a celebrated clockmaker from Warrington whose intricate timepieces are now highly sought after by collectors.

In the 18th century, the FAIRHURST surname spread beyond Lancashire, with bearers of the name appearing in various parts of England and even in the American colonies. One significant figure was James Fairhurst (1745-1819), a wealthy merchant from Liverpool who made his fortune in the West Indies trade.

As the centuries progressed, the FAIRHURST name continued to be represented by a diverse array of individuals, including authors, artists, and academics. Examples include the poet and author John Fairhurst (1810-1878), the landscape painter Thomas Fairhurst (1845-1914), and the renowned linguist and philologist Edward Fairhurst (1874-1949).

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fairhurst

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

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

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

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