2000
#13,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,161
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.80
Rare Last name
Fargo
A locational surname derived from various places named Fargo in England, likely referring to a fair or market.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,225 Americans carry the last name Fargo. That puts it at #14,695 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.65 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 154,047 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fargo 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
2.2K
1 in 154,047
Census rank
#14,695
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,940 bearers of the surname Fargo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.65 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14695th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fargo, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fargo
The surname Fargo is believed to have originated in Scotland, likely emerging sometime during the medieval period between the 11th and 16th centuries. It may derive from the Scottish Gaelic word "fairge," meaning "sea" or "ocean," potentially indicating that the name's earliest bearers lived near the coast or were involved in maritime activities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Fargo can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of instruments recording the submissions and homages made by Scottish nobles and landowners to Edward I of England during the Wars of Scottish Independence. The rolls mention a "William de Fargho" from Ayrshire, suggesting that the name was already in use by the late 13th century.
The name Fargo may also have roots in various place names found throughout Scotland, such as Fargo in Ayrshire or Forgue in Aberdeenshire. These locations could have influenced the surname's spelling and pronunciation over time.
Notable individuals with the surname Fargo include William George Fargo (1818-1881), an American entrepreneur and co-founder of the Wells Fargo Express Company, which later became the banking and financial services company Wells Fargo. Another prominent figure was James Fargo (1737-1835), a Scottish-American soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War.
Other historical figures bearing the Fargo surname include John Fargo (1670-1754), an early American settler and landowner in Connecticut, and James Fargo (1808-1874), a Scottish-born Canadian politician and businessman who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada.
It is also worth noting that the city of Fargo in North Dakota was named after William Fargo, the co-founder of Wells Fargo Express Company, further cementing the surname's place in American history and geography.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fargo
Among Census respondents with the surname Fargo, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Fargo 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 Fargo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.2% · 1,730
- Two or more races3.4% · 66
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 60
- Black or African American2.2% · 43
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 35
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fargo
Fargo 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
#13,646
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,219
+58 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Down 641 places
2020
#14,695
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,940
-279 bearers (-12.6%)
Per 100,000 0.65
Rank movement Down 1,049 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,005 | 2,161 | 0.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,646 | 2,219 | 0.75 | +58 bearers (+2.7%) | Down 641 places |
| 2020 | #14,695 | 1,940 | 0.65 | -279 bearers (-12.6%) | Down 1,049 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 Fargo 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 | #13,646 | #14,695 | -7.7% |
| Count | 2,219 | 1,940 | -12.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.75 | 0.65 | -13.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fargo bearers went from 2,219 to 1,940 (-12.6% change). The surname moved down 1,049 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,646 to #14,695.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Fargo
FAQ
Fargo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fargo?
Name Census estimates that about 2,225 living Americans carry the surname Fargo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 154,047 residents.
How common is Fargo?
Fargo ranks #14,695 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.65 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,940 people with the surname Fargo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,225), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.65 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.65 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Fargo.
Has Fargo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fargo went from 2,219 recorded bearers to 1,940. That is a decrease of 279 (-12.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,646 to #14,695.
What does the Census say about the background of Fargo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fargo, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Fargo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.2% (1,730 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fargo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.2%), Two or More Races (3.4%), Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Fargo (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 Fargo mean?
A locational surname derived from various places named Fargo in England, likely referring to a fair or market. 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 Fargo (0.65 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 are called Fargo?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Fargo, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.