2000
#12,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,337
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.87
Rare Last name
Folks
An English surname derived from the Old English word "folc," meaning people or common people.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,604 Americans carry the last name Folks. That puts it at #12,934 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 131,626 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Folks 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 Folks with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.6K
1 in 131,626
Census rank
#12,934
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,271 bearers of the surname Folks in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12934th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Folks, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.8%. The next largest groups are Black (30.6%) and Hispanic (7.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Folks
The surname FOLKS is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "folc," which meant "people" or "nation." This name likely originated as a descriptive surname, referring to someone who lived among or served the common people.
The earliest recorded use of the surname FOLKS dates back to the 13th century. It appears in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, a census-like record of landowners in England, where it is spelled as "Folke."
In the 14th century, the surname FOLKS can be found in various records, such as the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327, where it is listed as "Folkes." This suggests that the name was well-established in various regions of England during this period.
One notable early bearer of the surname was John Folks, a merchant from Bristol, England, who lived in the late 14th century. Records show that he was involved in trade with various European countries.
Another significant figure was Sir William Folks, a knight and landowner who lived in Gloucestershire, England, in the 15th century. He is mentioned in the Inquisitions Post Mortem of 1467, a record of land holdings and inheritances.
During the 16th century, the surname FOLKS appeared in various forms, such as "Folkes" and "Foulkes." One notable individual from this period was Edward Foulkes, a member of the English Parliament who represented the borough of Salisbury in 1563.
In the 17th century, the surname FOLKS continued to be prominent in England. One notable bearer was Thomas Folks, a scholar and writer who was born in Warwickshire in 1628 and authored several works on theology and philosophy.
In the 18th century, the FOLKS surname can be found in various regions of England, as well as in the American colonies. One notable figure was Benjamin Folks, a farmer and Revolutionary War soldier from Virginia, who was born in 1746 and fought in several battles against the British forces.
As the centuries progressed, the FOLKS surname spread to various parts of the world, carried by immigrants and settlers from England. Today, it can be found in numerous countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Folks
Among Census respondents with the surname Folks, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.8%. The next largest groups are Black (30.6%) and Hispanic (7.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Folks 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 Folks surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.8% · 1,312
- Black or African American30.6% · 695
- Hispanic or Latino7.0% · 160
- Two or more races3.4% · 77
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 20
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Folks
Folks 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
#12,861
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,394
+57 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Down 640 places
2020
#12,934
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,271
-123 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Down 73 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,221 | 2,337 | 0.87 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,861 | 2,394 | 0.81 | +57 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 640 places |
| 2020 | #12,934 | 2,271 | 0.76 | -123 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 73 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 Folks 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 | #12,861 | #12,934 | -0.6% |
| Count | 2,394 | 2,271 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.81 | 0.76 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Folks bearers went from 2,394 to 2,271 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 73 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,861 to #12,934.
FAQ
Folks surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Folks?
Name Census estimates that about 2,604 living Americans carry the surname Folks. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 131,626 residents.
How common is Folks?
Folks ranks #12,934 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,271 people with the surname Folks. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,604), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.76 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Folks.
Has Folks become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Folks went from 2,394 recorded bearers to 2,271. That is a decrease of 123 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,861 to #12,934.
What does the Census say about the background of Folks?
Among Census respondents with the surname Folks, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.8%. The next largest groups are Black (30.6%) and Hispanic (7.0%). 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 Folks in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.8% (1,312 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Folks appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (57.8%), Black (30.6%), Hispanic (7.0%). 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 Folks (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 Folks mean?
An English surname derived from the Old English word "folc," meaning people or common people. 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 Folks (0.76 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 Folks?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Folks, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.