2000
#119,644
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 134
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Foggin
An English surname derived from occupational trades involving fog or smoke.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 164 Americans carry the last name Foggin. That puts it at #125,732 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,089,965 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Foggin 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 Foggin with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
164
1 in 2,089,965
Census rank
#125,732
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
143
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 143 bearers of the surname Foggin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 125732nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Foggin, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Black (4.9%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Foggin
The surname Foggin is an English habitational name derived from a place called Foggathorpe, a township in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The name is believed to have originated in the late 12th or early 13th century, derived from the Old English words "fog" meaning moss or boggy ground, and "thorpe" meaning a small village or hamlet.
The earliest recorded reference to the surname Foggin dates back to 1273, when a Richard de Fogheton was mentioned in the Yorkshire Feet of Fines. This document was a record of land transactions and legal agreements made in medieval England. The spelling variations in early records include Foggathorp, Foggethorp, and Foggathorpe.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Foggin was John Foggin, who was born in Foggathorpe around 1380. He was a landowner and farmer in the area. Another notable figure was William Foggin, born in 1512 in Kirby Grindalythe, Yorkshire. He was a member of the Guild of Corpus Christi, a religious fraternity in York.
In the 16th century, the surname Foggin appeared in the records of the nearby town of Malton, Yorkshire. Thomas Foggin, born around 1540, was a prominent merchant and landowner in the area. His son, John Foggin, born in 1570, was a member of the local gentry and served as a magistrate.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname outside of Yorkshire was in the 17th century, when a family with the name Foggin settled in the county of Norfolk. Robert Foggin, born in 1621 in Swanton Morley, Norfolk, was a yeoman farmer and landowner.
Another notable figure was Reverend Thomas Foggin, born in 1690 in Foggathorpe, Yorkshire. He was a Church of England clergyman and served as the Vicar of Lockington, a village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, from 1726 until his death in 1753.
Throughout the centuries, various individuals with the surname Foggin have made their mark in various fields, including agriculture, trade, religion, and local governance. While the name originated from a specific location in Yorkshire, it has since spread to other parts of England and beyond.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Foggin
Among Census respondents with the surname Foggin, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Black (4.9%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Foggin 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 Foggin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.9% · 130
- Black or African American4.9% · 7
- Two or more races2.8% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Foggin
Foggin 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
#113,791
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 154
+20 bearers (+14.9%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 5,853 places
2020
#125,732
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 143
-11 bearers (-7.1%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 11,941 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #119,644 | 134 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #113,791 | 154 | 0.05 | +20 bearers (+14.9%) | Up 5,853 places |
| 2020 | #125,732 | 143 | 0.05 | -11 bearers (-7.1%) | Down 11,941 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 Foggin 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 | #113,791 | #125,732 | -10.5% |
| Count | 154 | 143 | -7.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.05 | -4.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Foggin bearers went from 154 to 143 (-7.1% change). The surname moved down 11,941 positions in the national ranking, going from #113,791 to #125,732.
FAQ
Foggin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Foggin?
Name Census estimates that about 164 living Americans carry the surname Foggin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,089,965 residents.
How common is Foggin?
Foggin ranks #125,732 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.05 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 143 people with the surname Foggin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (164), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.05 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 Foggin.
Has Foggin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Foggin went from 154 recorded bearers to 143. That is a decrease of 11 (-7.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #113,791 to #125,732.
What does the Census say about the background of Foggin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Foggin, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Black (4.9%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Foggin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (130 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Foggin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.9%), Black (4.9%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Foggin (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 Foggin mean?
An English surname derived from occupational trades involving fog or smoke. 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 Foggin (0.05 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 Foggin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.