Find out how popular the last name Folse is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Folse.

Folse, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Folse surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Folse in America

Folse is the 13470th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Folse surname appeared 2,260 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Folse.

We can also compare 2010 data for Folse to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Folse

The surname FOLSE originated in the Normandy region of France. It is believed to have derived from the Old French word "folie," which means "foolishness" or "folly." This name may have been initially used as a nickname for someone who was considered foolish or eccentric.

The earliest recorded instances of the FOLSE surname date back to the 12th century in Normandy. Some variations of the spelling in historical records include Follis, Follies, and Follie. The name was likely brought to England during the Norman Conquest in 1066 and can be found in the Domesday Book, a survey of land ownership commissioned by William the Conqueror.

One of the earliest known individuals with the FOLSE surname was Sir Robert Follie, a Norman knight who fought alongside William the Conqueror during the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Another notable figure was Margery Follie, a 14th-century English landowner whose name appears in the Yorkshire County records.

In the 15th century, the FOLSE surname spread to other parts of Europe, including Spain and Germany. One prominent bearer of the name was Juan Folse, a Spanish explorer who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas in 1493.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the FOLSE name was found in various regions of France, including Normandy, Brittany, and Poitou. One notable individual from this period was Pierre Folse, a French Huguenot who fled religious persecution and settled in South Carolina in the late 17th century.

In the 18th century, the FOLSE surname became established in Louisiana, where it is still prevalent today. One of the earliest settlers with this name was Jean-Baptiste Folse, who arrived in Louisiana from France in the 1720s and is considered an ancestor of many modern-day FOLSE families in the region.

Other notable individuals with the FOLSE surname include:

1. Louis Folse (1856-1928), a Louisiana politician and businessman who served as the Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana from 1920 to 1924.
2. Edith Garland Dupré Folse (1885-1962), an American writer and historian known for her works on Louisiana Creole culture and folklore.
3. John Folse (born 1946), a renowned Louisiana chef and author who has written several cookbooks on Cajun and Creole cuisine.
4. Christine Folse (born 1958), an American artist and sculptor known for her large-scale public installations.
5. Stanley Folse (born 1965), a former professional baseball player who spent several seasons in the Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Folse

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Folse.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Folse was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Folse has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Folse was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Folse, please contact us.

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