2000
#8,294
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,674
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.36
Rare Last name
Fey
Derived from Middle English, referring to someone with supernatural abilities or a connection to fairy folklore.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,930 Americans carry the last name Fey. That puts it at #9,152 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.15 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 87,215 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fey 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 Fey with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.9K
1 in 87,215
Census rank
#9,152
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,427 bearers of the surname Fey in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.15 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9152nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fey, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fey
The surname Fey has its origins in Germany and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old High German word "fehi," meaning cattle or livestock. The name may have initially been given as a descriptive surname to someone who worked as a cowherd or cattle farmer.
In medieval Germany, the name was often spelled as "Feye" or "Feiger." One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the "Codex Traditionum Monasterii Superioris Rathensis," a 12th-century manuscript from the monastery of Obermünster in Regensburg, Bavaria. The document mentions a certain "Heinricus Feiger" among its list of landowners and tenants.
By the 13th century, the name had spread to other regions of Germany, and variations such as "Feie," "Feye," and "Fey" can be found in historical records from towns and villages across the country. For example, a "Johannes Fey" is mentioned in a 1287 document from the city of Lübeck in northern Germany.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Konrad Fey, a 14th-century farmer and landowner from the village of Hohenroda in Hesse, central Germany. His descendants continued to use the surname for generations, with members of the Fey family appearing in various records and chronicles throughout the following centuries.
In the 16th century, the name Fey was also found in parts of Switzerland, likely carried there by German immigrants or traders. One notable Swiss bearer of the name was Hans Fey, a farmer and vintner from the village of Twann, near Biel, who was born in 1532 and died in 1601.
Another historical figure with the surname Fey was Johann Fey, a German theologian and philosopher who lived from 1636 to 1701. He was born in Herborn, Hesse, and served as a professor of philosophy at the University of Giessen.
As the centuries passed, the Fey surname continued to be found across Germany and in German-speaking regions of Europe. Other notable individuals with this last name include the 19th-century German painter and lithographer Eduard Fey (1808-1877), and the early 20th-century German writer and dramatist Emil Fey (1878-1950).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fey
Among Census respondents with the surname Fey, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Fey 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 Fey surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.2% · 3,127
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 108
- Two or more races3.1% · 105
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 41
- Black or African American1.2% · 40
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fey
Fey 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
#9,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,588
-86 bearers (-2.3%)
Per 100,000 1.22
Rank movement Down 814 places
2020
#9,152
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,427
-161 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 1.15
Rank movement Down 44 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,294 | 3,674 | 1.36 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,108 | 3,588 | 1.22 | -86 bearers (-2.3%) | Down 814 places |
| 2020 | #9,152 | 3,427 | 1.15 | -161 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 44 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 Fey 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 | #9,108 | #9,152 | -0.5% |
| Count | 3,588 | 3,427 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.22 | 1.15 | -6.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fey bearers went from 3,588 to 3,427 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 44 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,108 to #9,152.
FAQ
Fey surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fey?
Name Census estimates that about 3,930 living Americans carry the surname Fey. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 87,215 residents.
How common is Fey?
Fey ranks #9,152 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.15 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 3,427 people with the surname Fey. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,930), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.15 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 Fey.
Has Fey become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fey went from 3,588 recorded bearers to 3,427. That is a decrease of 161 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,108 to #9,152.
What does the Census say about the background of Fey?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fey, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Fey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.2% (3,127 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fey appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.2%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Fey (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 Fey mean?
Derived from Middle English, referring to someone with supernatural abilities or a connection to fairy folklore. 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 Fey (1.15 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 share the surname Fey?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.