2000
#9,249
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,242
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.20
Rare Last name
Farlow
An English locational surname derived from a place meaning "fern hill."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,489 Americans carry the last name Farlow. That puts it at #10,096 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.02 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 98,239 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Farlow 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Farlow with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.5K
1 in 98,239
Census rank
#10,096
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,043 bearers of the surname Farlow in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.02 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10096th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Farlow, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.8%. The next largest groups are Black (12.0%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Farlow
Among Census respondents with the surname Farlow, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.8%. The next largest groups are Black (12.0%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Farlow 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 Farlow surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.8% · 2,460
- Black or African American12.0% · 366
- Two or more races3.1% · 95
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 85
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Farlow
Farlow 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
#9,865
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,279
+37 bearers (+1.1%)
Per 100,000 1.11
Rank movement Down 616 places
2020
#10,096
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,043
-236 bearers (-7.2%)
Per 100,000 1.02
Rank movement Down 231 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,249 | 3,242 | 1.20 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,865 | 3,279 | 1.11 | +37 bearers (+1.1%) | Down 616 places |
| 2020 | #10,096 | 3,043 | 1.02 | -236 bearers (-7.2%) | Down 231 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 Farlow 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 | #9,865 | #10,096 | -2.3% |
| Count | 3,279 | 3,043 | -7.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.11 | 1.02 | -8.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Farlow bearers went from 3,279 to 3,043 (-7.2% change). The surname moved down 231 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,865 to #10,096.
FAQ
Farlow surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Farlow?
Name Census estimates that about 3,489 living Americans carry the surname Farlow. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 98,239 residents.
How common is Farlow?
Farlow ranks #10,096 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.02 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 3,043 people with the surname Farlow. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,489), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.02 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.02 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 Farlow.
Has Farlow become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Farlow went from 3,279 recorded bearers to 3,043. That is a decrease of 236 (-7.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,865 to #10,096.
What does the Census say about the background of Farlow?
Among Census respondents with the surname Farlow, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.8%. The next largest groups are Black (12.0%) and Two or More Races (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 Farlow in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.8% (2,460 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Farlow appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.8%), Black (12.0%), Two or More Races (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 Farlow (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 Farlow mean?
An English locational surname derived from a place meaning "fern hill." 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 Farlow (1.02 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 Farlow?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Farlow, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.