2000
#5,095
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,321
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.34
Rare Last name
Fannin
Derived from an Irish place name meaning "slope" or "declivity," or from the Irish first name Fíanán.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,200 Americans carry the last name Fannin. That puts it at #5,361 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.10 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 47,605 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fannin 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
7.2K
1 in 47,605
Census rank
#5,361
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,279 bearers of the surname Fannin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.10 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5361st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fannin, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.3%. The next largest groups are Black (7.8%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fannin
The surname Fannin is of Anglo-Saxon origin and is believed to have derived from the Old English word "fana" or "fana-mann," which means "banner bearer" or "standard bearer." This suggests that the name was likely first given as a descriptive nickname to someone who carried the banner or standard during battles or military campaigns.
The earliest recorded instances of the Fannin surname can be traced back to the 13th century in England. One of the earliest known records is found in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire in 1273, where a person named William Fanun is mentioned. Another early reference is in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex from 1296, which lists a John Faunum.
In the 14th century, the surname appeared in various spellings, such as Fanun, Faunun, and Fannun, reflecting the phonetic variations common during that period. For instance, the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1310 mentions a Robert Fanun, while the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire from 1379 list a John Fawnoun.
One notable individual bearing the Fannin surname was Thomas Fannin, a 16th-century English composer and organist who was born around 1530 and died in 1601. He served as the organist at St. Giles' Church in Cripplegate, London, and is known for his contributions to the English Renaissance music tradition.
Another significant figure was James Fannin, an American military commander who lived from 1804 to 1836. He led the ill-fated Fannin's Battle during the Texas Revolution, where his entire command of nearly 500 men was massacred by Mexican forces after surrendering at Goliad, Texas.
In the 19th century, Robert Fannin (1804-1888) was a prominent Irish-American politician and lawyer who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina from 1851 to 1853.
Samantha Fannin (1888-1968) was a British novelist and short story writer known for her works exploring the experiences of women in early 20th-century England. Her novels include "The Flowering Reed" (1919) and "The Green Path" (1923).
Joseph Fannin (1921-2004) was an American actor and stuntman who appeared in numerous Western films and television shows throughout the 1950s and 1960s, often portraying cowboys or Native American characters.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fannin
Among Census respondents with the surname Fannin, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.3%. The next largest groups are Black (7.8%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Fannin 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 Fannin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.3% · 5,293
- Black or African American7.8% · 487
- Two or more races4.5% · 285
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 142
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 56
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fannin
Fannin 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
#5,092
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,873
+552 bearers (+8.7%)
Per 100,000 2.33
Rank movement Up 3 places
2020
#5,361
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,279
-594 bearers (-8.6%)
Per 100,000 2.10
Rank movement Down 269 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,095 | 6,321 | 2.34 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,092 | 6,873 | 2.33 | +552 bearers (+8.7%) | Up 3 places |
| 2020 | #5,361 | 6,279 | 2.10 | -594 bearers (-8.6%) | Down 269 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 Fannin 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 | #5,092 | #5,361 | -5.3% |
| Count | 6,873 | 6,279 | -8.6% |
| Per 100K | 2.33 | 2.10 | -9.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fannin bearers went from 6,873 to 6,279 (-8.6% change). The surname moved down 269 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,092 to #5,361.
FAQ
Fannin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fannin?
Name Census estimates that about 7,200 living Americans carry the surname Fannin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 47,605 residents.
How common is Fannin?
Fannin ranks #5,361 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.10 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,279 people with the surname Fannin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,200), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.10 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Fannin.
Has Fannin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fannin went from 6,873 recorded bearers to 6,279. That is a decrease of 594 (-8.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,092 to #5,361.
What does the Census say about the background of Fannin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fannin, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.3%. The next largest groups are Black (7.8%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Fannin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.3% (5,293 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fannin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.3%), Black (7.8%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Fannin (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 Fannin mean?
Derived from an Irish place name meaning "slope" or "declivity," or from the Irish first name Fíanán. 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 Fannin (2.10 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 Fannin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.