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

File, 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 File surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of File in America

File is the 16881st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The File surname appeared 1,688 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 File.

We can also compare 2010 data for File 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 File

The surname File is of English origin and is thought to have derived from the Old English word 'filiæ', meaning a small child or offspring. It is believed to have originated as a descriptive nickname for a young person or the youngest child in a family.

The earliest known record of the name File dates back to the 12th century in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as 'Filius' in the county of Sussex. This Latin form of the name likely referred to a young man or son.

By the 13th century, the name had evolved into its more modern spelling of 'File' and appeared in various records across England, such as the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which recorded a William File in the county of Oxfordshire.

One of the earliest notable bearers of the name was John File, a merchant and Member of Parliament for the town of Ludlow in Shropshire, who lived around the mid-15th century.

The File surname also has associations with various place names in England, including File Green in Staffordshire and File Farm in Wiltshire, both of which likely derived their names from early inhabitants with the surname.

Other notable historical figures with the surname File include:

1. Thomas File (c. 1550-1625), an English politician and MP for Berkshire.
2. Robert File (c. 1565-1637), an English clergyman and chaplain to King James I.
3. John File (c. 1620-1689), a prominent Quaker minister and writer from Hertfordshire.
4. Sarah File (c. 1680-1720), an early American settler and one of the first English women to establish a home in present-day Delaware.
5. William File (c. 1710-1788), a British naval officer and explorer who commanded expeditions to the Pacific Ocean.

Over the centuries, the File surname has spread across various parts of the English-speaking world, carried by descendants of these early bearers of the name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name File

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

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

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

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