2000
#2,960
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,190
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.15
Uncommon Last name
Ferry
An occupational surname referring to a ferryman or someone who transported people or goods across a river or body of water.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 11,072 Americans carry the last name Ferry. That puts it at #3,596 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.23 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 30,957 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ferry 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Ferry with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 30,957
Census rank
#3,596
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.7K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,655 bearers of the surname Ferry in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.23 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3596th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ferry, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ferry
The surname FERRY is of English origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English word "ferian," which means "to carry" or "to transport." The name was originally an occupational name for a ferryman, someone who transported people and goods across rivers or bodies of water by boat or ferry.
The FERRY surname is found in various areas of England, particularly in counties with major rivers or waterways, such as Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Cambridgeshire. It is also prevalent in regions where ferry services were essential for transportation, like the coastal areas and islands.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the FERRY surname can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1194, where a person named Richard le Feryman is mentioned. The surname appears in various spellings throughout history, including Fery, Ferie, Ferrier, and Ferror.
The Domesday Book, a great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, does not contain any direct references to the FERRY surname. However, it does mention individuals with the occupation of "ferryman" or "nauta" (Latin for boatman).
Among notable individuals with the FERRY surname throughout history are:
1. Richard Ferris (c. 1510-1564), an English Protestant martyr who was burned at the stake during the Marian Persecutions.
2. Paul Ferry (1590-1669), a French Jesuit missionary and explorer who traveled extensively in North America and founded the first European settlement in what is now Michigan.
3. Eliza Sproat Turner Ferry (1801-1888), an American abolitionist and women's rights activist who played a significant role in the Underground Railroad.
4. Jules Ferry (1832-1893), a French statesman and Prime Minister who implemented important educational reforms and advocated for colonial expansion.
5. David Ferry (born 1924), an American poet, translator, and professor who has received numerous accolades, including the Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry.
The FERRY surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Ferrybridge in Yorkshire, Ferryside in Carmarthenshire, Wales, and Ferry Farm in Virginia, USA, reflecting the occupation's significance in transportation and settlement patterns.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ferry
Among Census respondents with the surname Ferry, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Ferry 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 Ferry surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.8% · 8,768
- Two or more races3.2% · 312
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 291
- Black or African American1.6% · 155
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 103
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 26
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ferry
Ferry 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
#3,467
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,312
-878 bearers (-7.8%)
Per 100,000 3.50
Rank movement Down 507 places
2020
#3,596
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,655
-657 bearers (-6.4%)
Per 100,000 3.23
Rank movement Down 129 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,960 | 11,190 | 4.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,467 | 10,312 | 3.50 | -878 bearers (-7.8%) | Down 507 places |
| 2020 | #3,596 | 9,655 | 3.23 | -657 bearers (-6.4%) | Down 129 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 Ferry 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 | #3,467 | #3,596 | -3.7% |
| Count | 10,312 | 9,655 | -6.4% |
| Per 100K | 3.50 | 3.23 | -7.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ferry bearers went from 10,312 to 9,655 (-6.4% change). The surname moved down 129 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,467 to #3,596.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Ferry
FAQ
Ferry surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ferry?
Name Census estimates that about 11,072 living Americans carry the surname Ferry. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 30,957 residents.
How common is Ferry?
Ferry ranks #3,596 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.23 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,655 people with the surname Ferry. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (11,072), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.23 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.23 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Ferry.
Has Ferry become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ferry went from 10,312 recorded bearers to 9,655. That is a decrease of 657 (-6.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,467 to #3,596.
What does the Census say about the background of Ferry?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ferry, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Ferry in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.8% (8,768 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ferry appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.8%), Two or More Races (3.2%), Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Ferry (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 Ferry mean?
An occupational surname referring to a ferryman or someone who transported people or goods across a river or body of water. 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 Ferry (3.23 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 Americans have the surname Ferry?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.