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

Farthing, 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 Farthing surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Farthing in America

Farthing is the 11031st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Farthing surname appeared 2,882 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 Farthing.

We can also compare 2010 data for Farthing 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 Farthing

The surname Farthing has its origins in England and dates back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English word 'feorthing' or 'ferdung', which referred to a quarter of a penny, a small amount of money in medieval times. This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who dealt with small sums of money, perhaps a tax collector or a moneylender.

The Farthing name is found in various historical records, including the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which lists a Robert Ferthyng residing in Oxfordshire. The Domesday Book of 1086 also mentions a place called 'Farthinghoe' in Northamptonshire, which may have been the original home of some early bearers of the name.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Farthing was William Farthing, a merchant who lived in London in the late 14th century. Another notable figure was John Farthing, a wealthy landowner from Worcestershire, who was born around 1550 and died in 1623.

In the 17th century, the name appears in various parish records, such as those of St. Bride's Church in London, where a Thomas Farthing was baptized in 1638. A variant spelling, 'Farthing', is found in the records of St. Mary's Church in Nottingham, where a John Farthing was married in 1674.

One of the most famous individuals with the Farthing surname was Benjamin Farthing, a notable English engraver and printer who lived from 1676 to 1758. His work included engravings for books and maps, and he is remembered for his contributions to the art of printmaking.

Another notable figure was John Farthing, a prominent British architect who was born in 1808 and died in 1886. He designed many notable buildings in London, including the Royal Albert Hall and the Natural History Museum.

In the 19th century, the Farthing name continued to be found across England, with records showing individuals bearing the surname in various occupations, from farmers to tradesmen. Examples include William Farthing, a farmer from Dorset who was born in 1812, and James Farthing, a carpenter from Yorkshire who was born in 1842.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Farthing

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!