Fettig last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Fettig

A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word "vetich," meaning a rag or patch of cloth.

Fettig, 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 Fettig surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fettig in America

Fettig is the 14799th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fettig surname appeared 2,005 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 Fettig.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fettig 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 14799 14590 1.42%
Count 2,005 1,871 6.91%
Proportion per 100k 0.68 0.69 -1.46%

The history of the last name Fettig

The surname Fettig is believed to have originated in Germany, with its earliest records dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the German word "fett," which means "fat" or "plump." This suggests that the name may have been initially used as a descriptive nickname for someone who was overweight or well-nourished.

In the early days, surnames were often derived from physical characteristics, occupations, or places of origin. The Fettig name likely emerged as a way to identify a particular family or individual with a distinctive physical trait, in this case, being stout or well-built.

One of the earliest known references to the Fettig surname can be found in the records of the town of Augsburg, located in the Bavaria region of Germany. In a document dated 1576, a certain Hans Fettig is mentioned as a resident of the town.

Another notable early record is that of Johann Fettig, a scholar and writer who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He was born in Wittenberg, Germany, in 1572 and is known for his works on theology and philosophy.

As the name spread across Germany, it also took on various spellings, such as Fettig, Fettich, and Fettich. Some of these variations may have been influenced by local dialects or the preferences of individual families.

In the 18th century, the Fettig name appeared in the records of the town of Koblenz, located along the Rhine River. A family by the name of Fettig is mentioned as owning a successful vineyard in the region.

One of the more notable figures with the Fettig surname was Friedrich Fettig, a German writer and poet who lived from 1799 to 1872. He was born in the town of Bamberg and is best known for his collection of poems titled "Gedichte" (Poems), published in 1845.

Another individual of note was Wilhelm Fettig, a German artist who lived from 1829 to 1892. He was born in the city of Leipzig and was renowned for his landscape paintings, which often depicted scenes from the surrounding countryside.

In the 19th century, the Fettig name also made its way to other parts of Europe, including Austria and Switzerland. One example is Hans Fettig, a Swiss architect who was born in 1835 and is known for his work on several notable buildings in the city of Zurich.

While the Fettig surname has its roots in Germany, it has since spread across the globe, with individuals bearing this name found in various countries and communities. However, the name's origins can be traced back to the descriptive nicknames used in the German-speaking regions of Europe centuries ago.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fettig

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

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 Fettig was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 95.71% 1,919
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.25% 5
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.45% 9
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 1.35% 27
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.15% 23
Hispanic Origin 1.10% 22

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 Fettig has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 95.71% 96.63% -0.96%
Black 0.25% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.45% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 1.35% 0.80% 51.16%
Two or More Races 1.15% 0.69% 50.00%
Hispanic 1.10% 1.28% -15.13%

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

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

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"Fettig last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/fettig-surname-popularity/.

"Fettig last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/fettig-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Fettig last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/fettig-surname-popularity/.

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