2000
#14,101
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,958
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.73
Rare Last name
Fallin
Derived from the Old English word "feallan," meaning "to fall," likely referring to someone who lived near a waterfall.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,115 Americans carry the last name Fallin. That puts it at #15,324 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 162,059 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fallin 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
2.1K
1 in 162,059
Census rank
#15,324
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,844 bearers of the surname Fallin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15324th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fallin, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Black (10.3%) and Two or More Races (5.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fallin
The surname Fallin is believed to have originated in Scotland during the Middle Ages. It is likely derived from the Scottish Gaelic word "falamh," which means empty or vacant. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived in an uninhabited or desolate area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Fallin can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which were a series of homage rolls that recorded the names of Scottish landowners who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England. In these rolls, the name appears as "Fallyn."
In the 14th century, the name Fallin was associated with the area of Fallin, which is a village located near Stirling in central Scotland. It is possible that the name originated from this place name or that the place name was derived from the surname.
During the 16th century, the name Fallin appeared in various Scottish records, including the Register of the Great Seal of Scotland. One notable individual with this surname was John Fallin, who was born in Aberdeen in 1568 and served as a merchant and burgess of the city.
In the 17th century, the spelling of the name evolved to its modern form, "Fallin." One notable bearer of this surname was Robert Fallin, a Scottish soldier who fought in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms during the 1640s.
In the 18th century, the Fallin surname spread beyond Scotland as Scottish emigrants settled in other parts of Britain and the British colonies. One notable individual from this period was William Fallin, who was born in Edinburgh in 1723 and later became a successful merchant and landowner in Virginia.
In the 19th century, the Fallin surname continued to be found in various parts of the United Kingdom and its colonies. One notable individual was John Fallin, an Irish-born engineer who played a significant role in the construction of railways in Australia. He was born in 1818 and died in 1888.
Another notable bearer of the Fallin surname was James Fallin, a Scottish-born artist who specialized in landscape paintings. He was born in Glasgow in 1839 and spent much of his career working in England, where he gained recognition for his depictions of the English countryside.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fallin
Among Census respondents with the surname Fallin, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Black (10.3%) and Two or More Races (5.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Fallin 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 Fallin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.4% · 1,483
- Black or African American10.3% · 190
- Two or more races5.3% · 98
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 41
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fallin
Fallin 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
#14,064
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,140
+182 bearers (+9.3%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Up 37 places
2020
#15,324
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,844
-296 bearers (-13.8%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Down 1,260 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,101 | 1,958 | 0.73 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,064 | 2,140 | 0.73 | +182 bearers (+9.3%) | Up 37 places |
| 2020 | #15,324 | 1,844 | 0.62 | -296 bearers (-13.8%) | Down 1,260 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 Fallin 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 | #14,064 | #15,324 | -9.0% |
| Count | 2,140 | 1,844 | -13.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.73 | 0.62 | -15.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fallin bearers went from 2,140 to 1,844 (-13.8% change). The surname moved down 1,260 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,064 to #15,324.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Fallin
FAQ
Fallin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fallin?
Name Census estimates that about 2,115 living Americans carry the surname Fallin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 162,059 residents.
How common is Fallin?
Fallin ranks #15,324 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.62 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 1,844 people with the surname Fallin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,115), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.62 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 Fallin.
Has Fallin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fallin went from 2,140 recorded bearers to 1,844. That is a decrease of 296 (-13.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,064 to #15,324.
What does the Census say about the background of Fallin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fallin, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Black (10.3%) and Two or More Races (5.3%). 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 Fallin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.4% (1,483 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fallin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.4%), Black (10.3%), Two or More Races (5.3%). 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 Fallin (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 Fallin mean?
Derived from the Old English word "feallan," meaning "to fall," likely referring to someone who lived near a waterfall. 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 Fallin (0.62 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 Fallin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.