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

Fawkes, 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 Fawkes surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fawkes in America

Fawkes is the 55741st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fawkes surname appeared 368 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 Fawkes.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fawkes 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 Fawkes

The surname Fawkes is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "falc", meaning "falcon". It was initially used as an occupational name for someone who bred or trained falcons for hunting purposes.

The earliest recorded instance of the name Fawkes can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Falconer" or "Falcun". This suggests that the name has been in use since at least the 11th century.

During the Middle Ages, the name Fawkes was most commonly found in the counties of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Nottinghamshire, where falconry was a popular pursuit among the nobility and gentry.

One of the most notable historical figures with the surname Fawkes was Guy Fawkes (1570-1606), the infamous leader of the Gunpowder Plot, a failed attempt to assassinate King James I of England in 1605. Fawkes was born in York and was a member of the Roman Catholic faith, which was persecuted at the time.

Another prominent individual with the surname Fawkes was Walter Fawkes (1540-1604), an English lawyer and Member of Parliament who served as a Justice of the Peace in Yorkshire.

In the 17th century, the name Fawkes appeared in various spellings, such as Faulks, Faukes, and Faulkes, reflecting the variations in pronunciation and spelling common in that era.

Among the early settlers in America was Thomas Fawkes, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 and became a prominent landowner in the colony.

Other notable individuals with the surname Fawkes include John Fawkes (1725-1777), a British Army officer who served in the American Revolutionary War, and Walter Fawkes (1769-1825), an English poet and clergyman.

The name Fawkes has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Fawkeswood in Nottinghamshire and Fawkeshill in Yorkshire, further highlighting its historical ties to the region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fawkes

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Fawkes, please contact us.

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