2000
#10,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,890
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.07
Rare Last name
Farwell
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near a spring or well that was far away.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,132 Americans carry the last name Farwell. That puts it at #11,095 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.91 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 109,436 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Farwell 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 Farwell with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.1K
1 in 109,436
Census rank
#11,095
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,731 bearers of the surname Farwell in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.91 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11095th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Farwell, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Farwell
The surname Farwell traces its origins to medieval England, with the earliest known use dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to have originated as a locational name, derived from a place name referring to a remote or distant valley. The name is thought to be a combination of the Old English words "feor" meaning far, and "well" referring to a stream or spring.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the surname Farwell can be found in the Hundredorum Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1279, where it is spelled as "Ferwell." This document was a survey of landholdings in England, providing valuable insights into the distribution of surnames during that period.
The Farwell surname has also been linked to the village of Farewell in Staffordshire, which was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Ferewell." This ancient record suggests that the name may have been derived from this specific place name, though the exact origins remain uncertain.
In the 14th century, the surname appears in various records with spellings such as "Ferewell," "Ferewall," and "Farewall." One notable bearer of the name was John Farwell, a merchant from London, who was mentioned in the city's records in 1388.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Farwell surname can be found scattered across various parts of England, with concentrations in counties like Hertfordshire, Warwickshire, and Gloucestershire. Notable individuals from this period include William Farwell, a landowner from Gloucestershire who was born in 1542, and Robert Farwell, a merchant from London who lived from 1598 to 1678.
As the centuries progressed, the Farwell surname continued to spread across the British Isles and beyond. In the 18th century, John Farwell, a British naval officer, gained recognition for his service during the American Revolutionary War. He was born in 1736 and died in 1808.
Another prominent figure was Samuel Farwell, an American soldier and politician who lived from 1760 to 1826. He served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and later became a member of the Massachusetts State Senate.
In the 19th century, Henry Farwell, an American businessman and philanthropist, made significant contributions to the city of Chicago. He was born in 1823 and passed away in 1912.
Throughout its history, the Farwell surname has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including merchants, landowners, soldiers, and politicians. While its exact origins may be shrouded in uncertainty, the name continues to bear the traces of its medieval English roots and the notion of a distant or remote place.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Farwell
Among Census respondents with the surname Farwell, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Farwell 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 Farwell surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.0% · 2,431
- Two or more races3.1% · 86
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 85
- Black or African American3.0% · 83
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 18
Timeline
Historical Census data for Farwell
Farwell 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
#10,717
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,981
+91 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 1.01
Rank movement Down 483 places
2020
#11,095
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,731
-250 bearers (-8.4%)
Per 100,000 0.91
Rank movement Down 378 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,234 | 2,890 | 1.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,717 | 2,981 | 1.01 | +91 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 483 places |
| 2020 | #11,095 | 2,731 | 0.91 | -250 bearers (-8.4%) | Down 378 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 Farwell 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 | #10,717 | #11,095 | -3.5% |
| Count | 2,981 | 2,731 | -8.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.01 | 0.91 | -9.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Farwell bearers went from 2,981 to 2,731 (-8.4% change). The surname moved down 378 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,717 to #11,095.
FAQ
Farwell surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Farwell?
Name Census estimates that about 3,132 living Americans carry the surname Farwell. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 109,436 residents.
How common is Farwell?
Farwell ranks #11,095 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.91 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 2,731 people with the surname Farwell. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.91 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.91 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 Farwell.
Has Farwell become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Farwell went from 2,981 recorded bearers to 2,731. That is a decrease of 250 (-8.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,717 to #11,095.
What does the Census say about the background of Farwell?
Among Census respondents with the surname Farwell, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (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 Farwell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.0% (2,431 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Farwell appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.0%), Two or More Races (3.1%), Hispanic (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 Farwell (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 Farwell mean?
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near a spring or well that was far away. 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 Farwell (0.91 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 Farwell?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Farwell at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.