2000
#142,819
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Feye
A surname possibly originating from "fey", meaning fay or fae, related to fairies or supernatural creatures.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Feye. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Feye 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Feye in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Feye, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.8%. The next largest groups are Black (24.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Feye
The surname FEYE originated in the region of Normandy in northern France during the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Old French word "feie," which meant "fairy" or "fay." This term may have initially been used as a nickname for someone with an otherworldly or whimsical personality.
In the 11th century, the name FEYE first appeared in the historic Domesday Book, a record of landholders commissioned by William the Conqueror after the Norman invasion of England in 1066. This suggests that early bearers of the name accompanied the Norman nobility during the conquest and settled in various parts of England.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname FEYE was Robert le Feye, who lived in Gloucestershire, England, during the reign of King John in the early 13th century. Another notable figure was Sir John Feye, a knight who fought in the Battle of Crécy during the Hundred Years' War in 1346.
The name FEYE has also been associated with various place names throughout history. For instance, the village of Fayence in southeastern France was once known as Faia or Faias, which may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname in certain regions.
In the 15th century, the name appeared in the form of "Faye" in the records of the College of Arms in London, which oversaw the granting of coats of arms and the regulation of heraldry. One such individual was William Faye, a merchant from Bristol, who was granted arms in 1450.
Among the notable bearers of the surname FEYE throughout history are:
1. Jacques Feye (1516-1584), a French Protestant theologian and reformer who participated in the Colloquy of Poissy in 1561.
2. Sir Henry Feye (1585-1648), an English soldier and Member of Parliament during the English Civil War.
3. Marie-Jeanne Feye (1713-1788), a French painter and miniaturist known for her portraits of the French nobility.
4. Johann Georg Feye (1767-1826), a German composer and violinist who served as the Kapellmeister of the Hessen-Darmstadt court.
5. Charles Feye (1859-1932), an American architect who designed several notable buildings in New York City.
While the surname FEYE has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, it remains a distinctive name with a rich historical legacy, tracing its origins back to the Norman conquest of England and the medieval French culture of Normandy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Feye
Among Census respondents with the surname Feye, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.8%. The next largest groups are Black (24.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Feye 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 Feye surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.8% · 80
- Black or African American24.6% · 29
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 4
- Two or more races3.4% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Feye
Feye 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
#156,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-3 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,225 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+14 bearers (+13.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 12,533 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #142,819 | 107 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.8%) | Down 13,225 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | +14 bearers (+13.5%) | Up 12,533 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 Feye 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 | #156,044 | #143,511 | 8.0% |
| Count | 104 | 118 | 13.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Feye bearers went from 104 to 118 (+13.5% change). The surname moved up 12,533 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #143,511.
FAQ
Feye surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Feye?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Feye. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Feye?
Feye ranks #143,511 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 118 people with the surname Feye. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Feye.
Has Feye become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Feye went from 104 recorded bearers to 118. That is an increase of 14 (+13.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #156,044 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Feye?
Among Census respondents with the surname Feye, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.8%. The next largest groups are Black (24.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Feye in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.8% (80 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Feye appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (67.8%), Black (24.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Feye (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 Feye mean?
A surname possibly originating from "fey", meaning fay or fae, related to fairies or supernatural creatures. 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 Feye (0.04 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 have the last name Feye?
If you just want to know how common the surname Feye is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.