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

Fisk, 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 Fisk surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fisk in America

Fisk is the 3634th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fisk surname appeared 9,779 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Fisk.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fisk 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 Fisk

The surname Fisk originates from England and dates back to the late 12th century. It is derived from the Old English word "fisc", meaning fish. This name was likely initially given as an occupational surname to someone who caught or sold fish for a living.

One of the earliest records of the Fisk surname can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1199, where a person named Willelmus Fisk is mentioned. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also include entries for individuals with this last name in counties like Oxfordshire and Cambridgeshire.

The Fisk surname is believed to have originated in the coastal regions of eastern England, where fishing was a common occupation. It later spread to other parts of the country as families migrated. Similar spellings found in historical records include Fiske, Fyshe, and Fysk.

In the 13th century, a person named Roger Fisk is recorded as being a tenant in the manor of Ashwell, Hertfordshire. During the reign of King Edward I (1272-1307), a John Fisk served as a member of parliament for the borough of Maldon in Essex.

One notable bearer of the Fisk surname was John Fisk (1601-1677), an influential Puritan minister and one of the founders of the town of Wenham, Massachusetts. He was born in Suffolk, England, and emigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1637.

Another prominent individual with this last name was James Fisk Jr. (1835-1872), an American businessman and stockbroker infamous for his involvement in the Erie Railway financial scandal. He was born in Bennington, Vermont and was known for his flamboyant lifestyle.

In the field of literature, the name Fisk is associated with Wilbur Fisk (1792-1839), a renowned American educator and Methodist minister who served as the first president of Wesleyan University in Connecticut.

Other notable figures throughout history include John Fisk (1743-1825), an American Revolutionary War soldier and one of the founders of Tennessee, and Fidelia Fisk (1816-1864), an American missionary and educator who established one of the first schools for girls in Persia (present-day Iran).

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fisk

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

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

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

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