2000
#896
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 35,389
First available Census row
Per 100,000 13.12
Uncommon Last name
Faulkner
An occupational surname referring to a falconer, one who hunts with or trains falcons.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 39,367 Americans carry the last name Faulkner. That puts it at #998 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 11.49 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 8,707 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Faulkner 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 Faulkner with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
39K
1 in 8,707
Census rank
#998
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
11.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
34K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 34,330 bearers of the surname Faulkner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 11.49 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 998th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Faulkner, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.3%. The next largest groups are Black (15.0%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Faulkner
The surname Faulkner is an English occupational name derived from the Middle English word "faukener" or "fawkener," which means "falconer" or someone who hunted with falcons. It originated in the 12th or 13th century when the Norman aristocracy introduced the sport of falconry to England.
The earliest recorded instance of the name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, where it appears as "Fauconer." The name is also mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327 as "Faukener."
One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname was Sir Thomas Faulkner (c. 1456–1534), a Member of Parliament and landowner from Berkshire, England. Another early Faulkner was William Faulkner (c. 1480–1554), a merchant and alderman from the City of London.
The name is also associated with several places in England, such as Faulkner's Green in Suffolk and Faulkner's Hall in Essex. These place names likely originated from individuals with the surname Faulkner who lived or owned property in those areas.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname underwent various spelling variations, including Fawkener, Fawkner, and Falconer. One notable individual from this period was Sir Everard Faulkner (1615–1685), a Member of Parliament and Lord Mayor of London in 1661.
In the 18th century, the most famous bearer of the name was William Faulkner (1701–1768), a renowned English dramatist and poet who wrote plays such as "The Rival Milliners" and "The Beggar's Opera."
The 19th century saw the rise of the American writer William Faulkner (1897–1962), a Nobel Prize laureate widely regarded as one of the most influential authors of the 20th century. His works, including "The Sound and the Fury" and "Absalom, Absalom!," explored the complexities of the American South.
Other notable individuals with the surname Faulkner include Sir Arthur Faulkner (1851–1936), a British colonial administrator and Governor of Newfoundland, and John Alfred Faulkner (1857–1931), an American artist known for his landscape paintings of the American West.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Faulkner
Among Census respondents with the surname Faulkner, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.3%. The next largest groups are Black (15.0%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Faulkner 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 Faulkner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.3% · 26,206
- Black or African American15.0% · 5,138
- Two or more races4.2% · 1,454
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 1,162
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 197
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 173
Timeline
Historical Census data for Faulkner
Faulkner 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
#952
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 36,466
+1,077 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 12.36
Rank movement Down 56 places
2020
#998
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 34,330
-2,136 bearers (-5.9%)
Per 100,000 11.49
Rank movement Down 46 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #896 | 35,389 | 13.12 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #952 | 36,466 | 12.36 | +1,077 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 56 places |
| 2020 | #998 | 34,330 | 11.49 | -2,136 bearers (-5.9%) | Down 46 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 Faulkner 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 | #952 | #998 | -4.8% |
| Count | 36,466 | 34,330 | -5.9% |
| Per 100K | 12.36 | 11.49 | -7.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Faulkner bearers went from 36,466 to 34,330 (-5.9% change). The surname moved down 46 positions in the national ranking, going from #952 to #998.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Faulkner
FAQ
Faulkner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Faulkner?
Name Census estimates that about 39,367 living Americans carry the surname Faulkner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 8,707 residents.
How common is Faulkner?
Faulkner ranks #998 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 11.49 per 100,000 residents, which is about 11 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 34,330 people with the surname Faulkner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (39,367), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 11.49 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 11.49 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 11 of them to have the surname Faulkner.
Has Faulkner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Faulkner went from 36,466 recorded bearers to 34,330. That is a decrease of 2,136 (-5.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #952 to #998.
What does the Census say about the background of Faulkner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Faulkner, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.3%. The next largest groups are Black (15.0%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Faulkner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.3% (26,206 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Faulkner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (76.3%), Black (15.0%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Faulkner (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 Faulkner mean?
An occupational surname referring to a falconer, one who hunts with or trains falcons. 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 Faulkner (11.49 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 share the surname Faulkner?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.