2000
#112,967
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 144
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Foner
A surname derived from the Middle English word "fon" meaning a fool or jester.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Foner. That puts it at #141,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,465,859 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Foner 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
139
1 in 2,465,859
Census rank
#141,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
121
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 121 bearers of the surname Foner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 141309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Foner, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.5%. The next largest groups are Black (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Foner
The surname Foner is of German origin and can be traced back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated in Bavaria, a state in southeastern Germany. The name Foner is derived from the German word "fohne," which means "pine tree." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this surname may have lived near a pine forest or were associated with the lumber trade.
During the Middle Ages, surnames were often derived from a person's occupation, location, or physical characteristics. The name Foner could have been given to someone who lived near a pine forest or worked with pine trees, such as a lumberjack or a woodworker.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Foner can be found in the church records of the town of Würzburg, located in Bavaria. In 1561, a man named Hans Foner was mentioned in these records, indicating that the name was already in use during that time period.
In the 17th century, the Foner family began to spread across various regions of Germany and neighboring countries. One notable bearer of this surname was Johann Foner, a German philosopher and theologian who lived from 1635 to 1701. He was known for his writings on ethics and moral philosophy.
As the Foner family continued to grow and expand, some members migrated to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas. In the 19th century, a man named Wilhelm Foner, born in 1820 in Saxony, Germany, immigrated to the United States and settled in Pennsylvania. He worked as a farmer and had several children, contributing to the spread of the Foner name in North America.
Another notable Foner was Eric Foner, an American historian and professor who specialized in the Civil War and Reconstruction era. He was born in 1943 in New York City and has written numerous books on American history, including "Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution" and "The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery."
Other individuals with the surname Foner include Philip Foner, an American labor historian and writer who lived from 1910 to 1994, and Henry Foner, an American labor organizer and activist who was born in 1899 and played a significant role in the labor movement of the early 20th century.
While the surname Foner may not be as widespread as some other surnames, it has a rich history and can be traced back to its German roots, where it was likely associated with the pine tree or the lumber trade in the 16th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Foner
Among Census respondents with the surname Foner, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.5%. The next largest groups are Black (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Foner 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 Foner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.5% · 118
- Black or African American2.5% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Foner
Foner 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
#119,508
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 145
+1 bearers (+0.7%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 6,541 places
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
-24 bearers (-16.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 21,801 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #112,967 | 144 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #119,508 | 145 | 0.05 | +1 bearers (+0.7%) | Down 6,541 places |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | -24 bearers (-16.6%) | Down 21,801 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 Foner 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 | #119,508 | #141,309 | -18.2% |
| Count | 145 | 121 | -16.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -19.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Foner bearers went from 145 to 121 (-16.6% change). The surname moved down 21,801 positions in the national ranking, going from #119,508 to #141,309.
FAQ
Foner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Foner?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Foner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Foner?
Foner ranks #141,309 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 121 people with the surname Foner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (139), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Foner.
Has Foner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Foner went from 145 recorded bearers to 121. That is a decrease of 24 (-16.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #119,508 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Foner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Foner, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.5%. The next largest groups are Black (2.5%). 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 Foner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.5% (118 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Foner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.5%), Black (2.5%). 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 Foner (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 Foner mean?
A surname derived from the Middle English word "fon" meaning a fool or jester. 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 Foner (0.04 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 Foner?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.