2000
#11,876
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,414
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.89
Rare Last name
Filer
An occupational surname for a person who spins thread or makes and sells yarn, from the Old French "filer."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,460 Americans carry the last name Filer. That puts it at #13,547 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 139,331 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Filer 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 Filer with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.5K
1 in 139,331
Census rank
#13,547
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,145 bearers of the surname Filer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13547th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Filer, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.5%. The next largest groups are Black (15.8%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Filer
The surname Filer originated in England during the medieval period. It is an occupational name derived from the Old English word 'filere', which means 'file maker' or 'file polisher'. The name likely referred to someone who manufactured or worked with files, which were tools used for smoothing or shaping metal or wood.
Filer is believed to have first appeared in England in the late 12th century, with early recordings of the name found in various tax rolls and census records. One of the earliest known mentions of the surname is in the Pipe Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1196, which lists a Robert le Filere.
The Filer surname was particularly prevalent in the counties of Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, and Wiltshire, where many early bearers of the name lived and worked as file makers or metalworkers. Variations in spelling were common, with early forms including Filere, Filour, and Fylour.
Notable historical figures with the surname Filer include John Filer, a wealthy merchant from Bristol who lived in the 15th century. He served as the Mayor of Bristol in 1449 and was a prominent figure in the city's trade and commerce.
Another notable Filer was Thomas Filer, a 16th-century English clergyman who served as the Archdeacon of Taunton from 1563 to 1578. He played a significant role in the religious reforms of the Church of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
In the 17th century, the Filer surname appeared in the records of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in America. Thomas Filer, born in England in 1609, was among the early Puritan settlers who arrived in the colony in 1635.
John Filer, born in 1676 in Gloucestershire, England, was a notable figure in the early history of Pennsylvania. He emigrated to the colony in 1701 and became a prominent land surveyor and mapmaker, contributing to the development of the region.
In the 19th century, William Filer, born in 1819 in Somerset, England, was a renowned horticulturist and botanist. He introduced several new plant species to Britain and was a Fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Filer
Among Census respondents with the surname Filer, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.5%. The next largest groups are Black (15.8%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Filer 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 Filer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.5% · 1,641
- Black or African American15.8% · 339
- Two or more races4.0% · 85
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 52
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Filer
Filer 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
#12,682
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,436
+22 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.83
Rank movement Down 806 places
2020
#13,547
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,145
-291 bearers (-11.9%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Down 865 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,876 | 2,414 | 0.89 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,682 | 2,436 | 0.83 | +22 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 806 places |
| 2020 | #13,547 | 2,145 | 0.72 | -291 bearers (-11.9%) | Down 865 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 Filer 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 | #12,682 | #13,547 | -6.8% |
| Count | 2,436 | 2,145 | -11.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.83 | 0.72 | -13.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Filer bearers went from 2,436 to 2,145 (-11.9% change). The surname moved down 865 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,682 to #13,547.
FAQ
Filer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Filer?
Name Census estimates that about 2,460 living Americans carry the surname Filer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 139,331 residents.
How common is Filer?
Filer ranks #13,547 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.72 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 2,145 people with the surname Filer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,460), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.72 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.72 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 Filer.
Has Filer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Filer went from 2,436 recorded bearers to 2,145. That is a decrease of 291 (-11.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,682 to #13,547.
What does the Census say about the background of Filer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Filer, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.5%. The next largest groups are Black (15.8%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Filer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.5% (1,641 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Filer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (76.5%), Black (15.8%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Filer (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 Filer mean?
An occupational surname for a person who spins thread or makes and sells yarn, from the Old French "filer." 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 Filer (0.72 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 Filer?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.