2000
#15,652
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,714
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.64
Rare Last name
Fairweather
A surname denoting someone who lived where the weather was fair and favorable.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,045 Americans carry the last name Fairweather. That puts it at #15,766 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 167,606 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fairweather 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 Fairweather with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.0K
1 in 167,606
Census rank
#15,766
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,783 bearers of the surname Fairweather in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15766th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fairweather, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.0%. The next largest groups are Black (28.4%) and Hispanic (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fairweather
The surname Fairweather is of English origin, derived from a locational name referring to a fair or temperate climate. It first emerged in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century, in various regions of England.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex from 1296, which mention a John de Fayreweder. This spelling variation reflects the evolving nature of the name over time, with variations like Fairwether, Fayrwedyr, and Fayrweather also appearing in historical records.
The name is thought to have originated as a descriptive term for a person living in an area with pleasant weather conditions. It may have been derived from the Old English words "fæger" (fair) and "weder" (weather), or it could have been a combination of the Middle English words "faire" and "wedere."
In the 16th century, the Fairweather surname appears in various records, such as the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1544, which mentions a William Fairwether. Around the same time, the name is also found in the Parish Registers of St. Dunstan's, Stepney, where a Thomas Fairewether was recorded in 1558.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John Fairweather, a 16th-century English composer and musician who served as a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal under Edward VI and Elizabeth I. He was active in the mid-to-late 16th century and is believed to have contributed to the Wanley Partbooks, a significant collection of Tudor church music.
Another notable figure was Sir William Fairweather (c.1580-1668), a Scottish merchant and politician who served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh from 1645 to 1647. He was a prominent figure in the Scottish Reformation and played a role in the National Covenant movement.
In the 17th century, the Fairweather name appeared in various parish records across England, including entries in the Parish Registers of St. Giles Cripplegate, London, where a marriage between John Fairweather and Elizabeth Smith was recorded in 1688.
One of the earliest known instances of the name in North America dates back to the late 17th century, when John Fairweather, a Scottish immigrant, settled in South Carolina around 1695. He is considered one of the first bearers of the name in the American colonies.
Another notable figure was William Fairweather (1753-1831), a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars. He was present at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 and later achieved the rank of Admiral.
These examples highlight the historical presence and evolution of the Fairweather surname, reflecting its English origins and its spread across different regions and countries over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fairweather
Among Census respondents with the surname Fairweather, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.0%. The next largest groups are Black (28.4%) and Hispanic (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Fairweather 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 Fairweather surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.0% · 1,124
- Black or African American28.4% · 506
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 71
- Two or more races3.9% · 69
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fairweather
Fairweather 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
#15,964
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,819
+105 bearers (+6.1%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Down 312 places
2020
#15,766
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,783
-36 bearers (-2.0%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Up 198 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,652 | 1,714 | 0.64 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,964 | 1,819 | 0.62 | +105 bearers (+6.1%) | Down 312 places |
| 2020 | #15,766 | 1,783 | 0.60 | -36 bearers (-2.0%) | Up 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 Fairweather 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 | #15,964 | #15,766 | 1.2% |
| Count | 1,819 | 1,783 | -2.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.62 | 0.60 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fairweather bearers went from 1,819 to 1,783 (-2.0% change). The surname moved up 198 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,964 to #15,766.
FAQ
Fairweather surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fairweather?
Name Census estimates that about 2,045 living Americans carry the surname Fairweather. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 167,606 residents.
How common is Fairweather?
Fairweather ranks #15,766 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.60 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 1,783 people with the surname Fairweather. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,045), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.60 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 Fairweather.
Has Fairweather become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fairweather went from 1,819 recorded bearers to 1,783. That is a decrease of 36 (-2.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,964 to #15,766.
What does the Census say about the background of Fairweather?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fairweather, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.0%. The next largest groups are Black (28.4%) and Hispanic (4.0%). 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 Fairweather in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.0% (1,124 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fairweather appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (63.0%), Black (28.4%), Hispanic (4.0%). 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 Fairweather (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 Fairweather mean?
A surname denoting someone who lived where the weather was fair and favorable. 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 Fairweather (0.60 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 Fairweather?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.