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

Faunce, 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 Faunce surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Faunce in America

Faunce is the 20201st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Faunce surname appeared 1,319 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Faunce.

We can also compare 2010 data for Faunce 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 Faunce

The surname Faunce traces its origins to the Norman French language and the Old French word "fauns" meaning "fawn" or "deer." It arose as a descriptive name during the Middle Ages, likely referring to someone with a gentle demeanor or a family noted for deer hunting.

The name first appeared in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066, when many Norman families settled in various parts of the country. Early recordings of the name include William le Fauner in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1191 and Robert le Faunur in the Assize Court Rolls of Lancashire in 1246.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the Faunce surname was Sir John Faunce, a knight who fought alongside King Edward III during the Hundred Years' War. He was present at the Battle of Crécy in 1346 and the Siege of Calais in 1347.

In the 16th century, the Faunce family established themselves in Devon, England. Notable members of this branch include Thomas Faunce (1520-1589), a wealthy landowner and benefactor of the Church of St. Andrew in Stratton, and his son, John Faunce (1548-1623), who served as the Sheriff of Devon.

Another prominent figure with the Faunce surname was John Faunce (1590-1668), a Puritan minister who emigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1623. He was among the founders of Plymouth Colony and served as the pastor of the First Parish Church in Plymouth for over 30 years.

In the 18th century, the Faunce name appeared in various parts of the American colonies. Notable bearers include Benjamin Faunce (1716-1792), a Revolutionary War soldier from Rhode Island, and John Faunce (1760-1835), a prominent merchant and shipowner from New York.

The Faunce surname has also been associated with several place names, including Faunce's Meadow in Massachusetts, named after John Faunce, the Puritan minister, and Faunce's Farm in Virginia, established by the Faunce family in the late 17th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Faunce

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

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

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