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

Fontanes, 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 Fontanes surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fontanes in America

Fontanes is the 87663rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fontanes surname appeared 212 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 Fontanes.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fontanes 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 Fontanes

The surname Fontanes originates from France and dates back to the 11th century. It is derived from the Old French word "fontaine," meaning "fountain" or "spring." This topographic name was likely given to someone who lived near a natural spring or well.

The name Fontanes can be traced back to various regions in France, including Normandy, Brittany, and the Languedoc region. It was particularly prevalent in the south of France, where many places were named after natural sources of water.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Fontanes appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name is listed as "de Fontanis," referring to a Norman family that settled in England after the Norman Conquest.

In the 13th century, a notable figure bearing the name Fontanes was Arnaud de Fontanes, a French troubadour and poet from the Languedoc region. He was known for his love poems and contributed to the development of Occitan literature.

During the Renaissance period, Louis de Fontanes (1557-1624) was a French scholar and poet from Provence. He was known for his translations of classical Greek and Latin authors and his poetry collections.

Another prominent individual with the surname Fontanes was Louis de Fontanes (1757-1821), a French politician, writer, and member of the Académie Française. He served as the Grand Master of the University of Paris and was a prominent figure during the French Revolution and the Napoleonic era.

In the 19th century, Jean-Pierre Fontanes (1823-1901) was a French architect and urban planner. He designed several notable buildings in Paris, including the Palais de l'Industrie and the Pavillon du Palais de l'Industrie.

The surname Fontanes can also be found in various place names throughout France, such as Fontanes in the Gard department, Fontaines in the Yonne department, and Fontaine-lès-Dijon in the Côte-d'Or department, further illustrating its topographic origins.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fontanes

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

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

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

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