2000
#12,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,383
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.88
Rare Last name
Fellers
An occupational surname derived from the Old English word "fellere," meaning a woodcutter or lumberjack.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,592 Americans carry the last name Fellers. That puts it at #12,996 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 132,235 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fellers 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 132,235
Census rank
#12,996
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,260 bearers of the surname Fellers in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12996th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fellers, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fellers
The surname Fellers is believed to have originated in Germany, with the earliest records dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the German word "feller," which means "to fell" or "to cut down." This suggests that the name may have been an occupational surname referring to someone who worked as a woodcutter or logger.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Fellers can be found in the town records of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a town in Bavaria, Germany. In a document from 1587, a man named Hans Fellers is mentioned as a resident of the town.
Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the Fellers surname began to spread across various regions of Germany, with families bearing this name settling in areas such as Saxony, Hesse, and Rhineland-Palatinate. Some variations in spelling, such as Feller and Fellers, were also common during this period.
In the late 18th century, a notable figure with the surname Fellers was Johann Fellers (1738-1805), a German mathematician and astronomer. He made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics and is known for his work on the calculation of cometary orbits.
Another historical figure with the Fellers surname was Wilhelm Fellers (1819-1899), a German-American engineer and entrepreneur. He immigrated to the United States in the mid-19th century and established a successful engineering firm in Chicago, Illinois.
As the Fellers family spread across Europe and eventually to other parts of the world, the name evolved and took on various forms. In the Netherlands, for example, the surname is sometimes spelled as Velders, which is likely a variation of the German Fellers.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Fellers surname in the United States can be traced back to the late 18th century, with the arrival of German immigrants to Pennsylvania. A notable American with this surname was John Fellers (1819-1896), a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War who received the Medal of Honor for his bravery in battle.
In the 19th century, the Fellers surname also appeared in various parts of England, possibly due to German immigrants settling in the country. One notable figure from this period was William Fellers (1832-1912), a British architect who designed several churches and public buildings in London.
Throughout history, the Fellers surname has been associated with various occupations and professions, from mathematicians and engineers to soldiers and architects. While the name may have originated as an occupational surname for woodcutters, it has since evolved and spread across different regions, reflecting the diverse histories and experiences of those who bear this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fellers
Among Census respondents with the surname Fellers, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Fellers 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 Fellers surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.5% · 2,069
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 79
- Two or more races3.4% · 77
- Black or African American0.7% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fellers
Fellers 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
#12,426
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,501
+118 bearers (+5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Down 398 places
2020
#12,996
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,260
-241 bearers (-9.6%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Down 570 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,028 | 2,383 | 0.88 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,426 | 2,501 | 0.85 | +118 bearers (+5.0%) | Down 398 places |
| 2020 | #12,996 | 2,260 | 0.76 | -241 bearers (-9.6%) | Down 570 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 Fellers 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 | #12,426 | #12,996 | -4.6% |
| Count | 2,501 | 2,260 | -9.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.85 | 0.76 | -11.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fellers bearers went from 2,501 to 2,260 (-9.6% change). The surname moved down 570 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,426 to #12,996.
FAQ
Fellers surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fellers?
Name Census estimates that about 2,592 living Americans carry the surname Fellers. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 132,235 residents.
How common is Fellers?
Fellers ranks #12,996 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.76 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 2,260 people with the surname Fellers. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,592), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.76 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 Fellers.
Has Fellers become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fellers went from 2,501 recorded bearers to 2,260. That is a decrease of 241 (-9.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,426 to #12,996.
What does the Census say about the background of Fellers?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fellers, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Fellers in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (2,069 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fellers appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.5%), Hispanic (3.5%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Fellers (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 Fellers mean?
An occupational surname derived from the Old English word "fellere," meaning a woodcutter or lumberjack. 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 Fellers (0.76 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 Fellers?
See how many people have the surname Fellers on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.