2000
#31,053
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 707
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.26
Very Rare Last name
Fogerty
A surname derived from an English place name meaning "the road through the boggy area".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 944 Americans carry the last name Fogerty. That puts it at #30,403 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.28 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 363,087 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fogerty 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 Fogerty with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
944
1 in 363,087
Census rank
#30,403
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
823
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 823 bearers of the surname Fogerty in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.28 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 30403rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fogerty, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fogerty
The surname Fogerty is of Irish origin, derived from the old Gaelic word "fochardha" which means "fertile." It is believed to have first emerged in the 8th or 9th century AD amongst various clans and tribes inhabiting the ancient province of Ulster in Northern Ireland.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the early 17th century. Here it appears spelled as "Ó Fochartaigh" which translates to "descendant of Focharta."
The name is thought to have originated as a byname or nickname given to someone living in or near a particularly fertile area of land. Over time, this descriptive name became hereditary and evolved into the various spellings we recognize today, including Fogarty, Fougherty, Foggarty, and of course, Fogerty.
In the 16th century, records show a John Fogarty who served as a constable in County Tipperary. A century later, in 1642, a man named Thomas Fogerty is listed as holding lands in County Kilkenny. These early examples demonstrate the name's longstanding presence across multiple Irish counties.
One notable bearer of the Fogerty surname was Brigadier General Robert Fogerty, an Irish-born soldier who served in the British Army during the 18th century (1714-1789). Another was Thomas Fogerty (1816-1899), an Irish-born prelate of the Catholic Church who became Bishop of Killaloe.
In more recent history, John Fogerty (born 1945) is a famous American musician, singer-songwriter, and guitarist, best known as the lead vocalist for the influential rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival. Though his ancestors adopted an Americanized spelling, his surname traces back to those early Irish roots.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fogerty
Among Census respondents with the surname Fogerty, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Fogerty 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 Fogerty surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.5% · 761
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 30
- Two or more races2.7% · 22
- Black or African American0.5% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fogerty
Fogerty 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
#32,203
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 716
+9 bearers (+1.3%)
Per 100,000 0.24
Rank movement Down 1,150 places
2020
#30,403
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 823
+107 bearers (+14.9%)
Per 100,000 0.28
Rank movement Up 1,800 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #31,053 | 707 | 0.26 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #32,203 | 716 | 0.24 | +9 bearers (+1.3%) | Down 1,150 places |
| 2020 | #30,403 | 823 | 0.28 | +107 bearers (+14.9%) | Up 1,800 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 Fogerty 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 | #32,203 | #30,403 | 5.6% |
| Count | 716 | 823 | 14.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.24 | 0.28 | 14.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fogerty bearers went from 716 to 823 (+14.9% change). The surname moved up 1,800 positions in the national ranking, going from #32,203 to #30,403.
FAQ
Fogerty surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fogerty?
Name Census estimates that about 944 living Americans carry the surname Fogerty. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 363,087 residents.
How common is Fogerty?
Fogerty ranks #30,403 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.28 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 823 people with the surname Fogerty. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (944), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.28 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.28 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 Fogerty.
Has Fogerty become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fogerty went from 716 recorded bearers to 823. That is an increase of 107 (+14.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #32,203 to #30,403.
What does the Census say about the background of Fogerty?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fogerty, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Fogerty in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (761 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fogerty appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.5%), Hispanic (3.6%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Fogerty (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 Fogerty mean?
A surname derived from an English place name meaning "the road through the boggy area". 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 Fogerty (0.28 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 Fogerty?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.