2000
#2,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,799
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.86
Uncommon Last name
Faust
An occupational surname derived from the German word "faust," meaning "fist," likely referring to a strong or pugnacious person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 17,241 Americans carry the last name Faust. That puts it at #2,366 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 19,880 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Faust 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 Faust with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
17K
1 in 19,880
Census rank
#2,366
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
15K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 15,035 bearers of the surname Faust in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2366th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Faust, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.6%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Faust
The surname Faust is of German origin, derived from the Latin word "faustus" meaning "lucky" or "fortunate". It is believed to have first emerged as a surname in the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century.
The name is thought to have originated in the region of southern Germany, particularly in the areas around Bavaria and Swabia. It may have initially been used as a nickname or descriptive name for someone considered fortunate or lucky.
One of the earliest known references to the name Faust is in the Narrenschiff, a satirical work written by Sebastian Brant and published in 1494. The book includes a character named Doctor Faustus, who is portrayed as a learned scholar but also a foolish and arrogant man.
The most famous bearer of the name Faust was Johann Georg Faust (c. 1480 - c. 1540), a German scholar and alchemist who became the basis for the legendary figure of Doctor Faustus, popularized in various literary works, including the play by Christopher Marlowe and the epic poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
Another notable person with the surname Faust was Johann Philipp Faust (1632-1685), a German jurist and legal scholar who served as a professor at the University of Strasbourg.
In the 18th century, Johann Friedrich Faust (1692-1768) was a prominent German theologian and philosopher who served as a professor at the University of Erlangen.
One of the earliest recorded spellings of the name is found in the Bayerisches Wörterbuch (Bavarian Dictionary), where it is listed as "Faust" or "Foust" in the 16th century.
The surname Faust has also been associated with various place names, such as Faustdorf (literally "Faust village") in Bavaria, which may have been named after an early bearer of the name.
Throughout history, the surname Faust has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, writers, and professionals, reflecting its association with learning and good fortune.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Faust
Among Census respondents with the surname Faust, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.6%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Faust 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 Faust surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.6% · 12,420
- Black or African American10.5% · 1,584
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 465
- Two or more races2.9% · 439
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 84
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 43
Timeline
Historical Census data for Faust
Faust 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
#2,263
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,066
+267 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 5.45
Rank movement Down 155 places
2020
#2,366
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,035
-1,031 bearers (-6.4%)
Per 100,000 5.03
Rank movement Down 103 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,108 | 15,799 | 5.86 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,263 | 16,066 | 5.45 | +267 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 155 places |
| 2020 | #2,366 | 15,035 | 5.03 | -1,031 bearers (-6.4%) | Down 103 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 Faust 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 | #2,263 | #2,366 | -4.6% |
| Count | 16,066 | 15,035 | -6.4% |
| Per 100K | 5.45 | 5.03 | -7.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Faust bearers went from 16,066 to 15,035 (-6.4% change). The surname moved down 103 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,263 to #2,366.
FAQ
Faust surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Faust?
Name Census estimates that about 17,241 living Americans carry the surname Faust. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 19,880 residents.
How common is Faust?
Faust ranks #2,366 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 15,035 people with the surname Faust. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (17,241), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Faust.
Has Faust become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Faust went from 16,066 recorded bearers to 15,035. That is a decrease of 1,031 (-6.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,263 to #2,366.
What does the Census say about the background of Faust?
Among Census respondents with the surname Faust, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.6%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) 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 Faust in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.6% (12,420 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Faust appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.6%), Black (10.5%), 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 Faust (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 Faust mean?
An occupational surname derived from the German word "faust," meaning "fist," likely referring to a strong or pugnacious person. 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 Faust (5.03 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 Faust?
If you just want to know how many people are called Faust, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.