2000
#47,735
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 417
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.15
Very Rare Last name
Fanger
A surname derived from an occupation involving nets or trapping.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 444 Americans carry the last name Fanger. That puts it at #56,914 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.13 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 771,969 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fanger 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
444
1 in 771,969
Census rank
#56,914
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
387
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 387 bearers of the surname Fanger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.13 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 56914th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fanger, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fanger
The surname Fanger has its origins in Germany, tracing back to the 16th century. It is likely derived from the German word "fangen," meaning "to catch" or "to capture." This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with professions such as a hunter, a trapper, or even a jailer.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Fanger surname can be found in the parish records of Saxony, dating back to the late 1500s. The name appears to have been particularly prevalent in the regions of Saxony and Thuringia during this time period.
In the 17th century, the Fanger name can be found in various municipal records and chronicles across central and northern Germany. Johann Fanger, born in 1621 in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, was a notable Lutheran theologian and author of several religious texts.
As the name spread throughout Germany, variations in spelling emerged, including Fanger, Faenger, and Fenger. These variations were often influenced by regional dialects and local pronunciation.
In the 18th century, the Fanger surname gained prominence in the military ranks. Friedrich Wilhelm Fanger, born in 1732 in Magdeburg, Prussia, was a respected Prussian officer who served under Frederick the Great during the Seven Years' War.
As German immigrants began to settle in other parts of Europe and the Americas, the Fanger name travelled with them. One notable figure was Carl Fanger, born in 1819 in Saxony, who later emigrated to the United States and became a prominent businessman and landowner in Wisconsin.
Other notable individuals bearing the Fanger surname include Karl Fanger, a German-born architect who designed several landmark buildings in Vienna, Austria, in the late 19th century, and Erich Fanger, a German-American physicist and researcher who made significant contributions to the field of nuclear fusion in the 20th century.
While the Fanger name has spread globally over the centuries, its origins can be traced back to the heart of Germany, where it emerged as a distinctive surname with links to professions and historical events.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fanger
Among Census respondents with the surname Fanger, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Fanger 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 Fanger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.1% · 337
- Two or more races6.5% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 9
- Black or African American1.0% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fanger
Fanger 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
#52,851
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 392
-25 bearers (-6.0%)
Per 100,000 0.13
Rank movement Down 5,116 places
2020
#56,914
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 387
-5 bearers (-1.3%)
Per 100,000 0.13
Rank movement Down 4,063 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #47,735 | 417 | 0.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #52,851 | 392 | 0.13 | -25 bearers (-6.0%) | Down 5,116 places |
| 2020 | #56,914 | 387 | 0.13 | -5 bearers (-1.3%) | Down 4,063 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 Fanger 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 | #52,851 | #56,914 | -7.7% |
| Count | 392 | 387 | -1.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.13 | 0.13 | -0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fanger bearers went from 392 to 387 (-1.3% change). The surname moved down 4,063 positions in the national ranking, going from #52,851 to #56,914.
FAQ
Fanger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fanger?
Name Census estimates that about 444 living Americans carry the surname Fanger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 771,969 residents.
How common is Fanger?
Fanger ranks #56,914 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.13 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 387 people with the surname Fanger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (444), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.13 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.13 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 Fanger.
Has Fanger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fanger went from 392 recorded bearers to 387. That is a decrease of 5 (-1.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #52,851 to #56,914.
What does the Census say about the background of Fanger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fanger, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%). 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 Fanger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.1% (337 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fanger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.1%), Two or More Races (6.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%). 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 Fanger (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 Fanger mean?
A surname derived from an occupation involving nets or trapping. 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 Fanger (0.13 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 have the last name Fanger?
Find out how many people have the last name Fanger on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.