2000
#135,837
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Faude
A variant of the surname "Ford", referring to someone who lived near a river crossing or ford.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Faude. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Faude 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.
Bearers in the US
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Faude in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Faude, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Faude
The surname Faude is believed to have originated in Germany during the Middle Ages. It is thought to be derived from the Old German word "faude," which meant "coarse" or "rough." This could have referred to a person's physical appearance or perhaps their personality or demeanor.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name dates back to the 13th century, when a man named Heinrich Faude was mentioned in a legal document from the town of Überlingen in southern Germany. The name was also found in records from the nearby town of Ravensburg around the same time period.
In the 15th century, the name appeared in the form "Fawde" in a manuscript from the city of Nuremberg. This spelling variation suggests that the name may have been influenced by the regional dialects of the area.
The Faude surname is also linked to several place names in Germany, such as Faudenbach, a small village in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is possible that the name originated as a locational surname, referring to someone who lived near or came from one of these places.
One notable bearer of the Faude name was Johann Faude, a German composer and organist who lived from 1672 to 1738. He was employed at the court of the Margrave of Baden-Durlach and is remembered for his contributions to the development of the Baroque organ repertoire.
Another individual of historical significance was Gottfried Faude, a German philosopher and theologian who lived from 1592 to 1668. He served as a professor at the University of Tübingen and wrote extensively on topics related to Protestant theology and metaphysics.
In the 19th century, a man named Wilhelm Faude gained recognition for his work as a cartographer and map publisher. Born in 1818 in the town of Wetzlar, he produced detailed maps of various regions in Germany and other parts of Europe.
The name Faude has also been found in records from other European countries, such as France and the Netherlands, suggesting that it may have spread beyond its German origins over time. However, its roots can be traced back to the Middle Ages in the southern regions of present-day Germany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Faude
Among Census respondents with the surname Faude, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Faude 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 Faude surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.9% · 107
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 5
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Faude
Faude 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
#129,825
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 131
+17 bearers (+14.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 6,012 places
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-17 bearers (-13.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 16,670 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #135,837 | 114 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #129,825 | 131 | 0.04 | +17 bearers (+14.9%) | Up 6,012 places |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | -17 bearers (-13.0%) | Down 16,670 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 Faude 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 | #129,825 | #146,495 | -12.8% |
| Count | 131 | 114 | -13.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Faude bearers went from 131 to 114 (-13.0% change). The surname moved down 16,670 positions in the national ranking, going from #129,825 to #146,495.
FAQ
Faude surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Faude?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Faude. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Faude?
Faude ranks #146,495 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 114 people with the surname Faude. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Faude.
Has Faude become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Faude went from 131 recorded bearers to 114. That is a decrease of 17 (-13.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #129,825 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Faude?
Among Census respondents with the surname Faude, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Faude in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.9% (107 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Faude appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.9%), Hispanic (4.4%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Faude (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 Faude mean?
A variant of the surname "Ford", referring to someone who lived near a river crossing or ford. 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 Faude (0.04 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 common is the surname Faude?
Find out how many people are called Faude on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.