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

Farmer, 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 Farmer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Farmer in America

Farmer is the 480th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Farmer surname appeared 69,617 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 24 people would have the surname Farmer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Farmer 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 Farmer

The surname Farmer is an English occupational name derived from the Old English word "ferm", meaning a rent, lease, or contract. It referred to a person who held land or a farm on a rental basis from the lord of the manor. The name can be traced back to the 11th century and is first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Fermore" and "Fermor".

In medieval times, the Farmer surname was most prevalent in the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex in East Anglia. This region was known for its fertile agricultural lands, and the name likely originated among those who worked as tenant farmers or held leases on farmland. Early variations of the spelling included Farmare, Fermer, and Fermor.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is William le Fermer, who is mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1191. Another early bearer was Roger le Farmer, who is listed in the Curia Regis Rolls of Nottinghamshire in 1208. These records provide evidence of the name's use in different parts of England during the 12th and 13th centuries.

Notable individuals with the surname Farmer include John Farmer (c. 1570-1638), an English composer and musician who served as a lay vicar at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Thomas Farmer (1589-1665) was an English clergyman and one of the founders of Harvard College in Massachusetts. John Farmer (1789-1838) was an American genealogist and historian from New Hampshire, known for his work on the history of New England families.

Other prominent bearers of the name include Moses Gerrish Farmer (1820-1893), an American electrical engineer and inventor who patented the first electrically amplified telephone receiver. Edward Farmer (1842-1918) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Kent County Cricket Club in the late 19th century.

Despite its occupational origins, the Farmer surname has maintained a strong presence throughout history, reflecting the importance of agriculture and land cultivation in English society. Its widespread distribution across various regions and its appearance in historical records dating back to the Domesday Book attest to its longevity as an English surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Farmer

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

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

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

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