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

Fendley, 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 Fendley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fendley in America

Fendley is the 16586th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fendley surname appeared 1,729 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Fendley.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fendley 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 Fendley

The surname Fendley is of English origin and dates back to the late medieval period. It is believed to have originated in the county of Derbyshire, where the name was first recorded. The name is thought to be a locational surname, derived from a place name, possibly from a township or hamlet that no longer exists or has changed its name over time.

One possible origin of the name Fendley is that it may be derived from the Old English words "fenn" meaning marsh or fen, and "ley" meaning a clearing or meadow. This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a marshy clearing. Another theory suggests that the name could be a variant spelling of the surname Findlay, which is derived from the Gaelic name "Fionnlagh," meaning "fair-haired warrior."

The earliest recorded instances of the name Fendley can be found in various historical documents from the 16th and 17th centuries. For example, in the parish records of Dronfield, Derbyshire, there is a mention of a John Fendley in 1566. Additionally, the Hearth Tax Returns of 1670 for Derbyshire list a William Fendley as a householder in the village of Staveley.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals bearing the surname Fendley. One such person was Thomas Fendley (1628-1693), an English Puritan clergyman and author who served as a minister in various parishes in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Another was John Fendley (1766-1824), a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and was present at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

Other individuals of note include William Fendley (1804-1876), a British architect who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Paddington. There was also George Fendley (1849-1914), a British businessman and philanthropist who founded the Fendley Trust, a charitable organization that supported education and housing initiatives in his hometown of Birmingham.

Lastly, a more recent historical figure was Edna Fendley (1903-1962), an American author and journalist who wrote several books on gardening and horticulture, including "Southern Sideboards" and "Gardening in the South."

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fendley

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Fendley, please contact us.

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