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

Fanfan, 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 Fanfan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fanfan in America

Fanfan is the 36337th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fanfan surname appeared 616 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 Fanfan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fanfan 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 Fanfan

The surname FANFAN is believed to have originated in France, specifically in the regions of Normandy and Brittany. It is derived from the Old French word "fanfare," which means a flourish of trumpets or a joyous musical celebration. This name likely originated as a nickname or descriptive name for someone who played the trumpet or was associated with fanfare music.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname FANFAN date back to the 13th century. In 1295, a record in the Normandy region mentions a Jean FANFAN, who was a trumpeter in the court of the Duke of Normandy. This suggests that the name was already established and associated with musicians at that time.

In the 14th century, the name appears in various municipal records and tax rolls in the towns of Rouen and Caen in Normandy. There are also mentions of a Guillaume FANFAN, a prominent merchant and trader from the town of Saint-Malo in Brittany, who lived between 1330 and 1395.

One notable bearer of the FANFAN surname was Jean-Baptiste FANFAN, a French composer and musician who lived from 1644 to 1712. He was a renowned virtuoso on the trumpet and wrote several pieces for the instrument, contributing to the development of French baroque music.

Another significant figure was François FANFAN, a French explorer and navigator who was born in 1671 in the port city of La Rochelle. He led several expeditions to the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, mapping out new territories and establishing trade routes for the French colonies.

In the 19th century, Antoine FANFAN, a French military officer and engineer, was born in 1822 in Marseille. He was known for his contributions to the construction of fortifications and defensive structures during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871.

The name FANFAN has also been associated with various places in France, such as the village of Fanfan in the Calvados department of Normandy, which likely derived its name from the surname itself or vice versa.

While the FANFAN surname is not among the most common in France, it has a rich history and has been borne by individuals who made notable contributions in various fields, particularly in music, exploration, and military engineering.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fanfan

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

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

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

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