2000
#2,899
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,371
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.22
Uncommon Last name
Falcon
An occupational surname referring to a falconer, one who hunts with or trains falcons.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 17,290 Americans carry the last name Falcon. That puts it at #2,358 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 19,824 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Falcon 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 Falcon with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
17K
1 in 19,824
Census rank
#2,358
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
15K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 15,078 bearers of the surname Falcon in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2358th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Falcon, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 72.6%. The next largest groups are White (20.4%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Falcon
The surname Falcon is of Old French origin, derived from the Old French word "faucon" meaning "falcon" or "hawk". It first emerged as a surname in the 12th century in northern France and Normandy.
The name likely originated as a descriptive nickname for someone who excelled in falconry, the hunting sport involving trained birds of prey. It may also have been an occupational name for someone who bred or trained falcons. Some early bearers of the name may have been employed as falconers by noble households.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the surname Falcon can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which lists a Norman landowner named Falco in Lincolnshire, England. This was likely a variant spelling of the same name.
In the 13th century, the surname Falcon appeared in various medieval records across England and France, including the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which mentions a John Faucun in Oxfordshire. The variant spelling "Fawcon" was also common during this period.
Notable historical figures with the surname Falcon include Sir John Falcon (c.1330-1395), a prominent English knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War, and Barthélemy Falcon (c.1485-1540), a French jurist and legal scholar who served as a counselor in the Parlement of Paris.
Other early bearers of the name include Jehan Faucon, a French merchant recorded in Paris in 1292, and William Fawcon, an English landowner mentioned in the Feet of Fines records for Yorkshire in 1379.
The surname Falcon was sometimes associated with place names, such as Falconhurst (from the Old English "falca" meaning "falcon" and "hyrst" meaning "wooded hill") and Falconbridge (from the Old English "brycg" meaning "bridge"), indicating that some families may have taken their surname from the location where they resided.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Falcon
Among Census respondents with the surname Falcon, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 72.6%. The next largest groups are White (20.4%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Falcon 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 Falcon surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino72.6% · 10,942
- White20.4% · 3,073
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 295
- Black or African American1.8% · 277
- Two or more races1.7% · 251
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 240
Timeline
Historical Census data for Falcon
Falcon 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
#2,398
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,125
+3,754 bearers (+33.0%)
Per 100,000 5.13
Rank movement Up 501 places
2020
#2,358
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,078
-47 bearers (-0.3%)
Per 100,000 5.04
Rank movement Up 40 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,899 | 11,371 | 4.22 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,398 | 15,125 | 5.13 | +3,754 bearers (+33.0%) | Up 501 places |
| 2020 | #2,358 | 15,078 | 5.04 | -47 bearers (-0.3%) | Up 40 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 Falcon 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 | #2,398 | #2,358 | 1.7% |
| Count | 15,125 | 15,078 | -0.3% |
| Per 100K | 5.13 | 5.04 | -1.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Falcon bearers went from 15,125 to 15,078 (-0.3% change). The surname moved up 40 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,398 to #2,358.
FAQ
Falcon surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Falcon?
Name Census estimates that about 17,290 living Americans carry the surname Falcon. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 19,824 residents.
How common is Falcon?
Falcon ranks #2,358 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 15,078 people with the surname Falcon. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (17,290), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Falcon.
Has Falcon become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Falcon went from 15,125 recorded bearers to 15,078. That is a decrease of 47 (-0.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #2,398 to #2,358.
What does the Census say about the background of Falcon?
Among Census respondents with the surname Falcon, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 72.6%. The next largest groups are White (20.4%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Falcon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.6% (10,942 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Falcon appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (72.6%), White (20.4%), American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%). 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 Falcon (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 Falcon mean?
An occupational surname referring to a falconer, one who hunts with or trains falcons. 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 Falcon (5.04 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 are called Falcon?
Want to know how many people have the surname Falcon? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.