2000
#12,127
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,359
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.87
Rare Last name
Feagin
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Ó Faodhagáin," meaning "descendant of Faodhagán," a personal name of unknown meaning.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,635 Americans carry the last name Feagin. That puts it at #12,799 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.77 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 130,078 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Feagin 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
2.6K
1 in 130,078
Census rank
#12,799
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,298 bearers of the surname Feagin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.77 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12799th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Feagin, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.4%. The next largest groups are Black (35.2%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Feagin
The surname Feagin has its roots in England, tracing back to the medieval period. It is believed to have originated as a locational name, derived from the place name "Feaggins" or a similar variation. This place name itself is thought to originate from the Old English words "feoh" meaning cattle, and "ingen" meaning meadow or pasture.
One of the earliest known records of the name Feagin can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land and property ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The entry mentions a family residing in the area of what is now known as Feggingstone, a small village in Shropshire.
In the 13th century, historical records show a William de Feggyngton, who was a landowner in the county of Staffordshire. This suggests that the Feagin family had established a presence in the region by that time.
The name underwent various spelling variations over the centuries, including Feggington, Feggyngton, and Feggynton, before the modern form of Feagin became more standardized.
Notable individuals with the surname Feagin include Sir John Feagin, who served as the Mayor of London in 1457. Another prominent figure was Thomas Feagin, born in 1612, a renowned scholar and theologian at Oxford University.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Feagin family spread across England, with branches settling in counties such as Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Warwickshire. One notable member was Robert Feagin, born in 1688, who was a successful merchant and philanthropist in the city of Bristol.
In the 18th century, the name Feagin made its way across the Atlantic, with several members of the family emigrating to the American colonies. One such individual was William Feagin, born in 1742, who served as a soldier in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
As the centuries passed, the Feagin surname continued to be found in various parts of the world, with members of the family contributing to various fields, including academia, politics, and the arts.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Feagin
Among Census respondents with the surname Feagin, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.4%. The next largest groups are Black (35.2%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Feagin 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 Feagin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.4% · 1,318
- Black or African American35.2% · 809
- Two or more races4.4% · 101
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 62
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Feagin
Feagin 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
#11,801
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,653
+294 bearers (+12.5%)
Per 100,000 0.90
Rank movement Up 326 places
2020
#12,799
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,298
-355 bearers (-13.4%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Down 998 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,127 | 2,359 | 0.87 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,801 | 2,653 | 0.90 | +294 bearers (+12.5%) | Up 326 places |
| 2020 | #12,799 | 2,298 | 0.77 | -355 bearers (-13.4%) | Down 998 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 Feagin 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 | #11,801 | #12,799 | -8.5% |
| Count | 2,653 | 2,298 | -13.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.90 | 0.77 | -14.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Feagin bearers went from 2,653 to 2,298 (-13.4% change). The surname moved down 998 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,801 to #12,799.
FAQ
Feagin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Feagin?
Name Census estimates that about 2,635 living Americans carry the surname Feagin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 130,078 residents.
How common is Feagin?
Feagin ranks #12,799 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.77 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 2,298 people with the surname Feagin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,635), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.77 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.77 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 Feagin.
Has Feagin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Feagin went from 2,653 recorded bearers to 2,298. That is a decrease of 355 (-13.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,801 to #12,799.
What does the Census say about the background of Feagin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Feagin, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.4%. The next largest groups are Black (35.2%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Feagin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.4% (1,318 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Feagin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (57.4%), Black (35.2%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Feagin (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 Feagin mean?
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Ó Faodhagáin," meaning "descendant of Faodhagán," a personal name of unknown meaning. 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 Feagin (0.77 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 Feagin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.