2000
#133,114
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Faltus
An English surname derived from the Old High German words "falz" meaning "fold" and referring to an occupation involving folding cloth or paper.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 117 Americans carry the last name Faltus. That puts it at #154,755 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,929,524 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Faltus 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
117
1 in 2,929,524
Census rank
#154,755
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
102
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 102 bearers of the surname Faltus in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154755th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Faltus, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Black (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Faltus
The surname Faltus is of Czech origin, first appearing in historical records during the late 15th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old Czech word "falta," meaning a fold or pleat, potentially referring to someone who worked as a tailor or seamstress. The name was concentrated in the regions of Bohemia and Moravia, where it was commonly found in village records and church registers.
One of the earliest documented instances of the surname Faltus can be traced back to a land deed from 1487, which mentions a certain Jan Faltus as a landowner in the village of Litoměřice, near Prague. Another notable reference is found in the municipal records of Brno, where a merchant named Václav Faltus is recorded as having traded in textiles and fabrics in the early 16th century.
In the 17th century, the name appears in the records of the Catholic Church in the town of Nové Město na Moravě, where a family by the name of Faltus is listed as parishioners. Around this time, the surname also began to spread to other parts of the Czech lands, with variations in spelling such as Faltusz and Faltusch appearing in some records.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Faltus was Jan Faltus (1612-1682), a prominent Czech physician and author who wrote several medical treatises that were widely circulated in Europe during his lifetime. Another notable figure was Matěj Faltus (1768-1825), a Czech educator and writer who published numerous works on pedagogy and linguistics.
In the 19th century, the name gained further prominence with the birth of Karel Faltus (1834-1901), a renowned Czech painter and illustrator whose works depicted scenes from Czech history and folklore. Another notable bearer of the surname was Václav Faltus (1877-1944), a Czech politician and member of the Agrarian Party who served as a member of the Czechoslovak National Assembly in the early 20th century.
The name Faltus has also been associated with several places in the Czech Republic, including the village of Faltusov, which was likely named after an early settler or landowner bearing the surname. Additionally, there is a street called Faltusova ulice in the city of Brno, potentially named after a local resident or notable figure with the Faltus name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Faltus
Among Census respondents with the surname Faltus, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Black (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Faltus 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 Faltus surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.1% · 95
- Two or more races3.9% · 4
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Faltus
Faltus 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
#148,347
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-6 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 15,233 places
2020
#154,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
-9 bearers (-8.1%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 6,408 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #133,114 | 117 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #148,347 | 111 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 15,233 places |
| 2020 | #154,755 | 102 | 0.03 | -9 bearers (-8.1%) | Down 6,408 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 Faltus 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 | #148,347 | #154,755 | -4.3% |
| Count | 111 | 102 | -8.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -14.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Faltus bearers went from 111 to 102 (-8.1% change). The surname moved down 6,408 positions in the national ranking, going from #148,347 to #154,755.
FAQ
Faltus surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Faltus?
Name Census estimates that about 117 living Americans carry the surname Faltus. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,929,524 residents.
How common is Faltus?
Faltus ranks #154,755 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 102 people with the surname Faltus. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (117), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Faltus.
Has Faltus become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Faltus went from 111 recorded bearers to 102. That is a decrease of 9 (-8.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #148,347 to #154,755.
What does the Census say about the background of Faltus?
Among Census respondents with the surname Faltus, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Black (1.0%). 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 Faltus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (95 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Faltus appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.1%), Two or More Races (3.9%), Black (1.0%). 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 Faltus (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 Faltus mean?
An English surname derived from the Old High German words "falz" meaning "fold" and referring to an occupation involving folding cloth or paper. 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 Faltus (0.03 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 common is the surname Faltus?
You can see how many people are called Faltus on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.