2000
#7,373
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,166
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.54
Rare Last name
Fillmore
Derived from English place names meaning "fern-covered moor" or "moor by a hill."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,992 Americans carry the last name Fillmore. That puts it at #7,383 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.46 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 68,661 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fillmore 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 Fillmore with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.0K
1 in 68,661
Census rank
#7,383
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,353 bearers of the surname Fillmore in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.46 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7383rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fillmore, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.6%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fillmore
The surname FILLMORE is of English origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English words "feld" meaning field and "mor" meaning moor or marsh, essentially referring to someone who lived near a marshy field or moorland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of this surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Feldemore". This suggests that the name was already in use by the late 11th century in various parts of England.
During the Middle Ages, the FILLMORE surname was particularly prevalent in the counties of Somerset, Dorset, and Devon in Southwest England. References to individuals with this name can be found in various medieval records and charters from these regions.
One notable early bearer of the FILLMORE surname was Sir William Fillmore (c. 1420 - 1492), a knight and landowner from Somerset who served as a member of the English Parliament during the Wars of the Roses.
In the 16th century, the surname appeared in various spellings such as Fillmore, Filmore, Phylmore, and Phillimore, reflecting the evolving conventions of English orthography.
Another noteworthy figure was Sir Robert Fillmore (1588 - 1655), a wealthy merchant and Member of Parliament for the city of Bristol in the early 17th century.
During the English Civil War, Captain John Fillmore (1615 - 1684) fought on the Parliamentarian side and was later awarded lands in Ireland for his service.
In the 18th century, the FILLMORE surname spread to other parts of England and beyond. One prominent bearer was Sir Robert Fillmore (1737 - 1813), a British naval officer who served during the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars.
Across the Atlantic, Nathaniel Fillmore (1739 - 1810) was an early settler in Vermont, United States, and is considered one of the ancestors of the 13th President of the United States, Millard Fillmore (1800 - 1874), whose surname is derived from the same English origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fillmore
Among Census respondents with the surname Fillmore, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.6%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Fillmore 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 Fillmore surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.6% · 3,421
- Black or African American10.1% · 439
- Two or more races4.5% · 198
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 193
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 64
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 38
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fillmore
Fillmore 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
#7,473
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,457
+291 bearers (+7.0%)
Per 100,000 1.51
Rank movement Down 100 places
2020
#7,383
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,353
-104 bearers (-2.3%)
Per 100,000 1.46
Rank movement Up 90 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,373 | 4,166 | 1.54 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,473 | 4,457 | 1.51 | +291 bearers (+7.0%) | Down 100 places |
| 2020 | #7,383 | 4,353 | 1.46 | -104 bearers (-2.3%) | Up 90 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 Fillmore 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 | #7,473 | #7,383 | 1.2% |
| Count | 4,457 | 4,353 | -2.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.51 | 1.46 | -3.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fillmore bearers went from 4,457 to 4,353 (-2.3% change). The surname moved up 90 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,473 to #7,383.
FAQ
Fillmore surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fillmore?
Name Census estimates that about 4,992 living Americans carry the surname Fillmore. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 68,661 residents.
How common is Fillmore?
Fillmore ranks #7,383 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.46 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 4,353 people with the surname Fillmore. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,992), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.46 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.46 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 Fillmore.
Has Fillmore become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fillmore went from 4,457 recorded bearers to 4,353. That is a decrease of 104 (-2.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #7,473 to #7,383.
What does the Census say about the background of Fillmore?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fillmore, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.6%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Fillmore in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.6% (3,421 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fillmore appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.6%), Black (10.1%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Fillmore (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 Fillmore mean?
Derived from English place names meaning "fern-covered moor" or "moor by a hill." 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 Fillmore (1.46 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 surname Fillmore?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.