2000
#3,356
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,742
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.61
Uncommon Last name
Fisk
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a fishing spot or on a fish-shaped piece of land.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,715 Americans carry the last name Fisk. That puts it at #3,694 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.13 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 31,988 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fisk 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 Fisk with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 31,988
Census rank
#3,694
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.3K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,344 bearers of the surname Fisk in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.13 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3694th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fisk, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fisk
Among Census respondents with the surname Fisk, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Fisk 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 Fisk surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.0% · 8,314
- Two or more races3.9% · 365
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 322
- Black or African American2.4% · 225
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 73
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 45
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fisk
Fisk 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
#3,634
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,779
+37 bearers (+0.4%)
Per 100,000 3.32
Rank movement Down 278 places
2020
#3,694
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,344
-435 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 3.13
Rank movement Down 60 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,356 | 9,742 | 3.61 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,634 | 9,779 | 3.32 | +37 bearers (+0.4%) | Down 278 places |
| 2020 | #3,694 | 9,344 | 3.13 | -435 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 60 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 Fisk 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 | #3,634 | #3,694 | -1.7% |
| Count | 9,779 | 9,344 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 3.32 | 3.13 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fisk bearers went from 9,779 to 9,344 (-4.4% change). The surname moved down 60 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,634 to #3,694.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Fisk
FAQ
Fisk surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fisk?
Name Census estimates that about 10,715 living Americans carry the surname Fisk. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 31,988 residents.
How common is Fisk?
Fisk ranks #3,694 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.13 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,344 people with the surname Fisk. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,715), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.13 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.13 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Fisk.
Has Fisk become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fisk went from 9,779 recorded bearers to 9,344. That is a decrease of 435 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,634 to #3,694.
What does the Census say about the background of Fisk?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fisk, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (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 Fisk in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.0% (8,314 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fisk appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.0%), Two or More Races (3.9%), Hispanic (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 Fisk (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 Fisk mean?
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a fishing spot or on a fish-shaped piece of land. 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 Fisk (3.13 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 Fisk?
You can see how many people have the last name Fisk on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.