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

Fearn, 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 Fearn surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fearn in America

Fearn is the 22056th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fearn surname appeared 1,175 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 Fearn.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fearn 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 Fearn

The surname Fearn is of Anglo-Saxon origin, derived from the Old English word "fearn" meaning fern. It was likely first adopted by someone who lived near a fern-covered area or landmark. The name is thought to have originated in the south of England during the Anglo-Saxon period, before the Norman Conquest of 1066.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which lists a landholder named Godric de Fearn in Wiltshire. This suggests that the Fearn surname was already established by the late 11th century. Several other early records from the 12th and 13th centuries mention individuals with variations of the name, such as Fearne, Ferne, and Fern.

Notable historical figures bearing the Fearn surname include Sir Thomas Fearn (c.1490-1548), a Member of Parliament for Northamptonshire during the reign of Henry VIII. Another was John Fearn (1768-1837), a prominent English mathematician and writer on subjects like metaphysics and natural philosophy.

In Scotland, the name Fearn was sometimes associated with the village of Fearn in Ross and Cromarty, suggesting that some bearers of the name may have originated from or lived in that area. One example is Colonel Alexander Fearn (1799-1869), a Scottish military officer who served in the British East India Company.

The surname also has a long history in Ireland, where it is sometimes spelled as Ferne or Ferne. One notable Irish bearer of the name was Charles Ferne (1892-1971), a playwright and novelist who wrote several works exploring Irish culture and identity.

Other individuals with the Fearn surname include Henry Fearn (1738-1794), an English clergyman and author of religious works, and John Fearn (1768-1837), an English mathematician and writer on metaphysics and natural philosophy.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fearn

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

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

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