2000
#130,443
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Fedderly
A surname of English origin potentially meaning someone from Featherley.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 156 Americans carry the last name Fedderly. That puts it at #130,360 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,197,143 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fedderly 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
156
1 in 2,197,143
Census rank
#130,360
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
136
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 136 bearers of the surname Fedderly in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 130360th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fedderly, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fedderly
The surname Fedderly is of Scottish origin, tracing its roots back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated in the region of Fife, where it was likely derived from the Old Scots word "feddyr," meaning a feather or plume. This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a nickname to someone who worked with feathers or had a distinctive feathery appearance.
Early records indicate that the name was initially spelled in various ways, such as Fedderlie, Fetherly, and Fetherlie, reflecting the phonetic variations common in surnames during that time period. One of the earliest known references to the name is found in the Fife Retours, a collection of legal documents from the 16th and 17th centuries, where a William Fetherly is mentioned in 1593.
In the 17th century, the name appears in the parish records of Kirkcaldy, a town in Fife, where several generations of the Fedderly family resided. A notable bearer of the name was John Fedderly, born in 1642, who served as a merchant and town councillor in Kirkcaldy.
As the Fedderly family spread throughout Scotland and beyond, the name took on various spellings, including Fedderly, Fedderlie, and Fetherly. In the 18th century, the name can be found in the records of the Church of Scotland, with baptisms and marriages of individuals bearing the surname in parishes across Fife and surrounding regions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Fedderly surname in literature is found in Sir Walter Scott's novel "The Antiquary," published in 1816, where a character named "Fedderly" is mentioned briefly. This literary reference suggests that the name had gained recognition beyond its local origins by the early 19th century.
Notable individuals with the Fedderly surname include:
1. Robert Fedderly (1738-1810), a Scottish merchant and landowner in Fife.
2. James Fedderly (1792-1867), a Scottish-born farmer and community leader in Upper Canada (modern-day Ontario, Canada).
3. William Fedderly (1820-1895), a Scottish-born engineer and industrialist who contributed to the development of early steam engines.
4. Margaret Fedderly (1856-1938), a Scottish-born writer and poet known for her works celebrating the landscapes of Fife.
5. John Fedderly (1880-1962), a Scottish-born artist and painter renowned for his landscapes and portraits.
While the Fedderly surname may have originated from humble beginnings, its enduring presence throughout history reflects the diverse contributions of those who bore this distinctive Scottish name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fedderly
Among Census respondents with the surname Fedderly, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Fedderly 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 Fedderly surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.9% · 129
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 2
- Two or more races0.7% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fedderly
Fedderly 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
#131,379
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 129
+9 bearers (+7.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 936 places
2020
#130,360
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 136
+7 bearers (+5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 1,019 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #130,443 | 120 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #131,379 | 129 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+7.5%) | Down 936 places |
| 2020 | #130,360 | 136 | 0.05 | +7 bearers (+5.4%) | Up 1,019 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 Fedderly 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 | #131,379 | #130,360 | 0.8% |
| Count | 129 | 136 | 5.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.05 | 13.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fedderly bearers went from 129 to 136 (+5.4% change). The surname moved up 1,019 positions in the national ranking, going from #131,379 to #130,360.
FAQ
Fedderly surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fedderly?
Name Census estimates that about 156 living Americans carry the surname Fedderly. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,197,143 residents.
How common is Fedderly?
Fedderly ranks #130,360 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 136 people with the surname Fedderly. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (156), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.05 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Fedderly.
Has Fedderly become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fedderly went from 129 recorded bearers to 136. That is an increase of 7 (+5.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #131,379 to #130,360.
What does the Census say about the background of Fedderly?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fedderly, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.5%). 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 Fedderly in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.9% (129 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fedderly appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.9%), Hispanic (2.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.5%). 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 Fedderly (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 Fedderly mean?
A surname of English origin potentially meaning someone from Featherley. 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 Fedderly (0.05 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 are called Fedderly?
Want to know how many people have the surname Fedderly? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.