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

Farlow, 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 Farlow surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Farlow in America

Farlow is the 9865th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Farlow surname appeared 3,279 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Farlow.

We can also compare 2010 data for Farlow 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 Farlow

The surname FARLOW is of English origin and dates back to the 13th century. It is believed to be a locational name derived from the Old English words "fearn" meaning fern and "hlaw" meaning hill or mound. This suggests the name may have originated from a place where ferns grew on a hill or mound.

The earliest recorded spelling of the name is found in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire in 1273, where it appears as Fernhull. Other early spellings include Fernhulle in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1327 and Farnhull in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1389.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, there is a reference to a place called "Fearnhalga" in Hertfordshire, which could be the origin of the name FARLOW. This place name is derived from the Old English words "fearn" (fern) and "halh" (a nook or corner of land).

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was John Farnhill, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1379. Another early bearer was Robert Fernhull, who was documented in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in 1492.

In the 16th century, the name FARLOW appears in various records, such as the Parish Registers of St. Dunstan's, Stepney, London, where a certain Alice Farlow was christened in 1582.

Notable individuals with the surname FARLOW include:

1. Benjamin Winslow Dudley Farlow (1824-1888), an American agriculturist and politician from Massachusetts.
2. William Gilson Farlow (1844-1919), an American botanist and a pioneer in the study of plant diseases.
3. Cyrus Farlow (1851-1924), an American artist and painter from Massachusetts.
4. Alton Farlow (1923-1998), an American jazz guitarist and composer from New Jersey.
5. John Farlow (1936-2021), an English cricketer who played for Somerset County Cricket Club.

While the name FARLOW is not as common as some other English surnames, it has a long and interesting history that can be traced back to the 13th century and the fern-covered hills of medieval England.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Farlow

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

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

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

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