2000
#431
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 68,309
First available Census row
Per 100,000 25.32
Uncommon Last name
Farmer
An occupational surname referring to a person who cultivated land or worked as an agricultural laborer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 76,449 Americans carry the last name Farmer. That puts it at #490 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 22.30 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 4,483 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Farmer 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 Farmer with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
76K
1 in 4,483
Census rank
#490
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
22.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
67K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 66,667 bearers of the surname Farmer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 22.30 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 490th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Farmer, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.1%. The next largest groups are Black (16.7%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Farmer
Among Census respondents with the surname Farmer, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.1%. The next largest groups are Black (16.7%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Farmer 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 Farmer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.1% · 49,420
- Black or African American16.7% · 11,119
- Two or more races4.5% · 2,975
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 2,035
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 711
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 407
Timeline
Historical Census data for Farmer
Farmer 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
#480
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 69,617
+1,308 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 23.60
Rank movement Down 49 places
2020
#490
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 66,667
-2,950 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 22.30
Rank movement Down 10 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #431 | 68,309 | 25.32 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #480 | 69,617 | 23.60 | +1,308 bearers (+1.9%) | Down 49 places |
| 2020 | #490 | 66,667 | 22.30 | -2,950 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 10 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 Farmer 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 | #480 | #490 | -2.1% |
| Count | 69,617 | 66,667 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 23.60 | 22.30 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Farmer bearers went from 69,617 to 66,667 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 10 positions in the national ranking, going from #480 to #490.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Farmer
FAQ
Farmer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Farmer?
Name Census estimates that about 76,449 living Americans carry the surname Farmer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 4,483 residents.
How common is Farmer?
Farmer ranks #490 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 22.30 per 100,000 residents, which is about 22 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 66,667 people with the surname Farmer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (76,449), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 22.3 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 22.30 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 22 of them to have the surname Farmer.
Has Farmer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Farmer went from 69,617 recorded bearers to 66,667. That is a decrease of 2,950 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #480 to #490.
What does the Census say about the background of Farmer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Farmer, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.1%. The next largest groups are Black (16.7%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Farmer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.1% (49,420 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Farmer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.1%), Black (16.7%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Farmer (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 Farmer mean?
An occupational surname referring to a person who cultivated land or worked as an agricultural laborer. 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 Farmer (22.30 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 have the last name Farmer?
See how many people are called Farmer on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.