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

Faulk, 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 Faulk surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Faulk in America

Faulk is the 3084th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Faulk surname appeared 11,656 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Faulk.

We can also compare 2010 data for Faulk 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 Faulk

The surname Faulk has its origins in England and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English word 'falc', meaning 'falcon' or 'hawker'. This name would have been given to someone who worked as a falconer or a person who hunted with falcons.

The name Faulk first appeared in the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The earliest recorded spelling of the name was 'Falconer', which later evolved into Faulkner and Faulk.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Sir Thomas Faulk, a knight who fought in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. He was born in Gloucestershire, England, and was awarded lands for his bravery in battle.

In the 16th century, the name Faulk was found in various records in the counties of Gloucestershire, Warwickshire, and Oxfordshire. The village of Faulkbourne in Essex, England, is said to have derived its name from the Faulk family who lived there.

In the 17th century, John Faulk (1600-1678) was a prominent English merchant and landowner in Virginia, USA. He was one of the earliest settlers in the colony and played a significant role in its development.

Another notable bearer of the name was William Faulk (1787-1859), a British explorer and naturalist who travelled extensively in South America. He wrote several books about his expeditions and made significant contributions to the study of natural history.

In the 19th century, James Faulk (1834-1912) was a American politician and lawyer who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana.

The Faulk surname has also been associated with several notable authors, including John Henry Faulk (1913-1990), an American storyteller and radio host, and William Faulkner (1897-1962), the Nobel Prize-winning American novelist known for works such as "The Sound and the Fury" and "As I Lay Dying".

While the name Faulk is more commonly found in England and the United States, it has also been recorded in other parts of the world, including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, likely due to migration patterns of English settlers.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Faulk

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Faulk, 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!