2000
#13,641
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,040
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.76
Rare Last name
Folse
Derived from a Norse nickname meaning "false" or "deceitful," likely referring to someone with a dishonest reputation.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,453 Americans carry the last name Folse. That puts it at #13,576 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 139,729 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Folse 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
2.5K
1 in 139,729
Census rank
#13,576
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,139 bearers of the surname Folse in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13576th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Folse, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.7%. The next largest groups are Black (9.2%) and Hispanic (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Folse
Among Census respondents with the surname Folse, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.7%. The next largest groups are Black (9.2%) and Hispanic (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Folse 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 Folse surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.7% · 1,790
- Black or African American9.2% · 196
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 89
- Two or more races2.2% · 46
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Folse
Folse 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
#13,470
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,260
+220 bearers (+10.8%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Up 171 places
2020
#13,576
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,139
-121 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Down 106 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,641 | 2,040 | 0.76 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,470 | 2,260 | 0.77 | +220 bearers (+10.8%) | Up 171 places |
| 2020 | #13,576 | 2,139 | 0.72 | -121 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 106 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 Folse 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 | #13,470 | #13,576 | -0.8% |
| Count | 2,260 | 2,139 | -5.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.77 | 0.72 | -7.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Folse bearers went from 2,260 to 2,139 (-5.4% change). The surname moved down 106 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,470 to #13,576.
FAQ
Folse surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Folse?
Name Census estimates that about 2,453 living Americans carry the surname Folse. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 139,729 residents.
How common is Folse?
Folse ranks #13,576 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.72 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 2,139 people with the surname Folse. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,453), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.72 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.72 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 Folse.
Has Folse become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Folse went from 2,260 recorded bearers to 2,139. That is a decrease of 121 (-5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,470 to #13,576.
What does the Census say about the background of Folse?
Among Census respondents with the surname Folse, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.7%. The next largest groups are Black (9.2%) and Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Folse in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.7% (1,790 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Folse appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.7%), Black (9.2%), Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Folse (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 Folse mean?
Derived from a Norse nickname meaning "false" or "deceitful," likely referring to someone with a dishonest reputation. 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 Folse (0.72 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 common is the surname Folse?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Folse on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.