2000
#15,898
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,680
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.62
Rare Last name
Faz
A surname of Arabic origin meaning "successful" or "victorious."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,477 Americans carry the last name Faz. That puts it at #13,477 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 138,375 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Faz 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.
Bearers in the US
2.5K
1 in 138,375
Census rank
#13,477
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,160 bearers of the surname Faz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13477th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Faz, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.8%. The next largest groups are White (6.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Faz
The surname Faz originated in Portugal during the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Portuguese word "faz," which means "to do" or "to make." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a descriptive surname to someone who was a skilled craftsman or artisan.
The earliest recorded instances of the Faz surname date back to the 13th century, when it appeared in various historical documents and records from the region of Alentejo in southern Portugal. Some of the earliest mentions include João Faz, a carpenter from the town of Évora, who was mentioned in a guild registry from 1267.
In the 14th century, the Faz surname was also found in the neighboring region of Algarve, where it was associated with several families of farmers and landowners. One notable figure from this period was Martim Faz, a wealthy landowner from the town of Loulé, whose name was recorded in a land transaction document from 1382.
As the Faz surname spread throughout Portugal over the centuries, it also began to appear in various spellings and variations, such as Faaz, Faazes, and Fazz. Some of these variations may have been influenced by local dialects or regional variations in pronunciation.
During the Age of Exploration in the 15th and 16th centuries, some individuals with the Faz surname likely accompanied Portuguese explorers and colonists to various parts of the world, including Brazil, Africa, and Asia. This contributed to the further dispersal of the name across different continents.
One of the earliest notable figures with the Faz surname was Rodrigo Faz de Arce, a Spanish-born navigator and explorer who participated in the Spanish conquest of the Philippines in the late 16th century. He was born in Seville, Spain, in 1553 and died in the Philippines in 1599.
Another noteworthy individual was João Faz Pereira, a Portuguese soldier and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Portuguese Mozambique from 1635 to 1639. He played a crucial role in strengthening Portugal's presence and influence in the region during that period.
In the 18th century, Manuel Faz de Sousa was a prominent Portuguese architect and engineer who was responsible for designing and overseeing the construction of several important buildings and infrastructure projects in Lisbon and other parts of Portugal. He lived from 1703 to 1789.
In the 19th century, José Faz da Silva was a Brazilian poet and writer who gained recognition for his works that celebrated the beauty and culture of his native land. He was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1818 and died in 1892.
One of the most renowned individuals with the Faz surname in modern times was António Faz Calheiros, a Portuguese politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1976 to 1978. He played a pivotal role in the country's transition to democracy after the Carnation Revolution in 1974. Calheiros was born in 1923 and passed away in 2004.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Faz
Among Census respondents with the surname Faz, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.8%. The next largest groups are White (6.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Faz 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 Faz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino91.8% · 1,982
- White6.9% · 149
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 9
- Two or more races0.4% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 7
- Black or African American0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Faz
Faz 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
#14,119
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,128
+448 bearers (+26.7%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Up 1,779 places
2020
#13,477
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,160
+32 bearers (+1.5%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Up 642 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,898 | 1,680 | 0.62 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,119 | 2,128 | 0.72 | +448 bearers (+26.7%) | Up 1,779 places |
| 2020 | #13,477 | 2,160 | 0.72 | +32 bearers (+1.5%) | Up 642 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 Faz 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 | #14,119 | #13,477 | 4.5% |
| Count | 2,128 | 2,160 | 1.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.72 | 0.72 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Faz bearers went from 2,128 to 2,160 (+1.5% change). The surname moved up 642 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,119 to #13,477.
FAQ
Faz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Faz?
Name Census estimates that about 2,477 living Americans carry the surname Faz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 138,375 residents.
How common is Faz?
Faz ranks #13,477 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.72 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,160 people with the surname Faz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,477), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.72 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.72 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Faz.
Has Faz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Faz went from 2,128 recorded bearers to 2,160. That is an increase of 32 (+1.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,119 to #13,477.
What does the Census say about the background of Faz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Faz, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.8%. The next largest groups are White (6.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.4%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Faz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.8% (1,982 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Faz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (91.8%), White (6.9%), American Indian/Alaska Native (0.4%). 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 Faz (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 Faz mean?
A surname of Arabic origin meaning "successful" or "victorious." 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 Faz (0.72 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 Faz?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Faz, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.