2010
#149,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Fleeting
A surname indicating short-lived, transient, or temporary existence.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Fleeting. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fleeting 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.
Bearers in the US
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Fleeting in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fleeting, the largest self-reported group is Black at 52.2%. The next largest groups are White (25.2%) and Two or More Races (10.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fleeting
The surname "FLEETING" is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period, likely derived from the Old English word "fleotende," which means "floating" or "transient." This name was likely given to someone who lived a nomadic or wandering lifestyle, or perhaps to someone who worked on a river or body of water.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1195, where a man named "Robertus Fletinge" is mentioned. This early spelling variation suggests a connection to the Old English word and the concept of movement or transience.
In the 13th century, a reference to a "William Fleting" appears in the Curia Regis Rolls of Oxfordshire, further solidifying the presence of this surname in medieval England. This era saw the gradual adoption of hereditary surnames, and it's likely that the Fleeting name became established during this time.
The Fleeting name has also been linked to certain place names, such as the village of Fleetingbury in Buckinghamshire, which may have served as the origin for some branches of the family. Alternative spellings like "Fleetinge" and "Fleetynge" were also common in historical records.
Notable individuals with the Fleeting surname include:
1. Sir John Fleeting (c. 1550-1625), an English merchant and explorer who was part of the Elizabethan era expeditions to the New World.
2. Elizabeth Fleeting (1612-1687), a renowned herbalist and midwife in London during the 17th century.
3. Thomas Fleeting (1711-1783), a British military officer who served in the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War.
4. Mary Fleeting (1765-1845), a prominent figure in the early days of the Women's Rights Movement in England.
5. Sir William Fleeting (1819-1901), a British engineer and inventor who made significant contributions to the development of steam engines.
Throughout its history, the Fleeting surname has maintained a connection to the concepts of movement, change, and transience, reflecting the nomadic or wandering origins of those who first bore this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fleeting
Among Census respondents with the surname Fleeting, the largest self-reported group is Black at 52.2%. The next largest groups are White (25.2%) and Two or More Races (10.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Fleeting 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 Fleeting surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American52.2% · 60
- White25.2% · 29
- Two or more races10.4% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino8.7% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.5% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fleeting
Fleeting appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+5 bearers (+4.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 3,638 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #149,395 | 110 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.5%) | Up 3,638 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 Fleeting 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 | #149,395 | #145,757 | 2.4% |
| Count | 110 | 115 | 4.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fleeting bearers went from 110 to 115 (+4.5% change). The surname moved up 3,638 positions in the national ranking, going from #149,395 to #145,757.
FAQ
Fleeting surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fleeting?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Fleeting. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Fleeting?
Fleeting ranks #145,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 115 people with the surname Fleeting. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Fleeting.
Has Fleeting become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fleeting went from 110 recorded bearers to 115. That is an increase of 5 (+4.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #149,395 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Fleeting?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fleeting, the largest self-reported group is Black at 52.2%. The next largest groups are White (25.2%) and Two or More Races (10.4%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Fleeting in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.2% (60 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fleeting appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (52.2%), White (25.2%), Two or More Races (10.4%). 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 Fleeting (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 Fleeting mean?
A surname indicating short-lived, transient, or temporary existence. 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 Fleeting (0.04 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 Fleeting?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.