2000
#143,847
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Foesch
A surname derived from a Germanic personal name meaning "falcon".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Foesch. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Foesch 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Foesch in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Foesch, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Foesch
The surname FOESCH has its origins in the German and Swiss regions of Europe, tracing back to the late medieval period around the 14th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "fosch," which referred to a dense forest or wooded area. This suggests that the name may have initially been used to describe someone who lived near or worked in a heavily forested region.
In some early records, the name has been found spelled with variations such as Foesche, Foesch, Foesche, and Foeschle, indicating regional differences in pronunciation and spelling over time. One of the earliest known references to the name appears in a Swiss manuscript from the year 1387, where a certain Hans Foesche is mentioned as a landowner in the Canton of Bern.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the FOESCH name began to spread more widely across German-speaking regions, particularly in areas like Alsace and the Black Forest. A notable individual from this era was Johann Foesch (1525-1597), a renowned clockmaker and inventor from the town of Schaffhausen, Switzerland, who is credited with developing one of the earliest portable spring-driven clocks.
In the 18th century, the name can be found in various records from the Palatinate region of Germany, including the birth of Johannes Foesch (1734-1812), a farmer and landowner from the village of Deidesheim. Another notable figure was Carl Foesch (1781-1854), a German businessman and industrialist who founded a successful textile manufacturing company in the city of Augsburg.
As the 19th century progressed, the FOESCH name continued to be associated with various professions and trades. One example is Friedrich Foesch (1823-1892), a prominent German architect who designed several notable buildings in the city of Cologne, including the Cologne Cathedral's western façade.
Throughout its history, the FOESCH surname has also been connected to various place names, such as Foeschau (now Fushë-Krujë) in Albania, which was once a German settlement, and the town of Fösch in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Foesch
Among Census respondents with the surname Foesch, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Foesch 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 Foesch surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.5% · 105
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Foesch
Foesch 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
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
+2 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,685 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
+2 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,086 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #143,847 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.9%) | Down 7,685 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.9%) | Up 2,086 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 Foesch 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 | #151,532 | #149,446 | 1.4% |
| Count | 108 | 110 | 1.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Foesch bearers went from 108 to 110 (+1.9% change). The surname moved up 2,086 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #149,446.
FAQ
Foesch surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Foesch?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Foesch. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Foesch?
Foesch ranks #149,446 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 110 people with the surname Foesch. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), 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 Foesch.
Has Foesch become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Foesch went from 108 recorded bearers to 110. That is an increase of 2 (+1.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #151,532 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Foesch?
Among Census respondents with the surname Foesch, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%). 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 Foesch in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.5% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Foesch appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.5%), Hispanic (1.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%). 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 Foesch (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 Foesch mean?
A surname derived from a Germanic personal name meaning "falcon". 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 Foesch (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 share the surname Foesch?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.