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

Fanter, 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 Fanter surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fanter in America

Fanter is the 97210th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fanter surname appeared 187 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 Fanter.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fanter 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 Fanter

The surname Fanter originated in Germany during the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "fant," meaning "traveler" or "wanderer." The name likely referred to someone who frequently traveled or had a nomadic lifestyle.

Fanter was initially prevalent in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony, where some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in medieval manuscripts and church records. In the 13th century, a family by the name of Fanter was mentioned in a local chronicle from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

One of the earliest known bearers of the Fanter surname was Heinrich Fanter, a merchant who lived in Nuremberg in the late 14th century. Records indicate that he traded in spices and textiles, which suggests that the name's association with travel may have been well-established by that time.

In the 16th century, the Fanter name appeared in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony. This reference provides evidence of the surname's continued presence in the region.

During the 17th century, a notable figure named Johann Fanter (1594-1672) gained recognition as a prominent jurist and legal scholar. He authored several influential works on German law and served as a professor at the University of Leipzig.

Another individual of historical significance was Christoph Fanter (1663-1728), a German composer and organist who was highly regarded for his contributions to church music during the Baroque period.

In the 19th century, a family of Fanters from Baden-Württemberg gained prominence in the field of viticulture. Friedrich Fanter (1812-1892) was a pioneering winemaker who introduced new techniques and helped establish the region's reputation for producing high-quality wines.

Throughout history, variations of the Fanter surname have included spellings like Fantheer, Fandter, and Fahnter, which may have been influenced by regional dialects or phonetic adaptations.

While the Fanter name has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of Europe and beyond, carried by generations of travelers and immigrants who continued the tradition of wandering and exploration that the name initially embodied.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fanter

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

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

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

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