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

Foman, 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 Foman surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Foman in America

Foman is the 159712th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Foman surname appeared 101 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Foman.

We can also compare 2010 data for Foman 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 Foman

The surname FOMAN is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period, likely in the 13th or 14th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "foa" meaning an enemy or foe, and "mann" meaning a man or person. This suggests that the name may have initially been used to refer to a hostile or antagonistic individual.

Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name FOMAN can be found in various historical documents from the 14th century. For example, a Robert Foman is mentioned in the Court Rolls of Suffolk from the year 1347. Additionally, a John Foman is listed in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1385.

During the 15th century, the name appeared to have spread to different regions of England. In the Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk from 1427, a William Foman is recorded as a resident of the village of Beccles. Similarly, the Lay Subsidy Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1479 mention a Thomas Foman residing in the town of Banbury.

In the 16th century, variations of the spelling of the name began to emerge, such as Fooman and Fewman. One notable individual from this period was John Foman, a merchant from London who was born in 1528 and passed away in 1597.

Moving into the 17th century, the name FOMAN continued to be found across various parts of England. In the Parish Registers of Warwickshire from 1612, a baptismal record exists for a child named Mary Foman. Additionally, the Hearth Tax Rolls of Somerset from 1664 list a household headed by a William Foman in the town of Yeovil.

In the 18th century, the name FOMAN seems to have gained prominence in certain areas of northern England. One individual of note was Robert Foman, a successful businessman from Newcastle upon Tyne who was born in 1724 and died in 1798. Another notable figure was Elizabeth Foman, a writer and poet from Yorkshire who lived from 1746 to 1818.

Throughout the 19th century, the FOMAN surname continued to be present in various regions of England, though it remained relatively uncommon. One individual of note from this period was James Foman, a renowned architect from London who was born in 1823 and passed away in 1902.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Foman

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

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 Foman 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 Foman 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 Foman was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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