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

Fees, 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 Fees surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fees in America

Fees is the 29041st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fees surname appeared 817 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 Fees.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fees 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 Fees

The surname Fees originated in Germany during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old German word "vehe," which means cattle or livestock. The name likely referred to an individual who worked as a cowherd or cattle farmer.

In the 13th century, the name appears in various records and documents from the regions of Bavaria and Swabia in southern Germany. Some of the earliest recorded spellings include Fehe, Fehen, and Fehn.

The Fees surname can be traced back to the town of Fehn, located in the district of Ravensburg in modern-day Baden-Württemberg, Germany. This place name is believed to have influenced the development of the surname.

One of the earliest known bearers of the Fees name was Hans Fehe, a farmer who lived in the village of Fehn in the late 14th century. Another notable figure was Johann Fehen, a wealthy landowner and cattle breeder from the town of Weingarten, who was born in 1512 and died in 1587.

In the 16th century, the name Fees appeared in the records of the Free Imperial City of Augsburg, which was a prominent center of trade and commerce in that era. Martin Fees, a successful merchant and member of the city council, was born in Augsburg in 1545 and died in 1621.

During the 17th century, the Fees surname spread to other parts of Germany, as well as neighboring regions such as Switzerland and Austria. One notable individual from this period was Christoph Fees, a renowned theologian and professor at the University of Tübingen, who was born in 1647 and died in 1716.

In the 19th century, the Fees family produced several notable figures, including Wilhelm Fees, a German writer and philosopher who was born in 1808 and died in 1870. He was known for his works on aesthetics and literary criticism.

Throughout its history, the Fees surname has been associated with various occupations, including farming, cattle breeding, commerce, academia, and literature. While the name originated in southern Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and immigration.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fees

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

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

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