2000
#8,139
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,751
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.39
Rare Last name
Fontes
Derived from a Portuguese and Spanish topographic name referring to someone who lived near springs or fountains.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,971 Americans carry the last name Fontes. That puts it at #7,416 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.45 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 68,951 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fontes 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
5.0K
1 in 68,951
Census rank
#7,416
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,335 bearers of the surname Fontes in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.45 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7416th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fontes, the largest self-reported group is White at 49.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (30.2%) and Black (12.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fontes
The surname Fontes has its origins in Portugal, dating back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Portuguese word "fonte," meaning "fountain" or "spring." This name likely referred to someone who lived near a water source or a prominent fountain.
The earliest recorded instances of the Fontes surname can be traced back to the 13th century. In 1258, a document from the Monastery of Alcobaça mentions a certain "Petrus Fontes," suggesting the surname was already in use at that time.
During the Age of Exploration in the 15th and 16th centuries, many Portuguese explorers and navigators bore the surname Fontes. One notable figure was Bartolomeu Fontes, a navigator who accompanied Vasco da Gama on his historic voyage to India in 1497-1499.
The Fontes surname also appears in historical records related to the Portuguese colonization of Brazil. In the 16th century, Pedro de Fontes was one of the first settlers and landowners in the captaincy of Pernambuco, playing a role in the early development of the region.
Another notable individual with this surname was Mateus de Fontes Pereira, a Portuguese military officer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Portuguese India from 1629 to 1633.
In the realm of literature, the name Fontes is associated with the 19th-century Portuguese writer and journalist Joaquim da Costa Fontes, born in 1824 and known for his contributions to the development of the Portuguese press.
Moving into the 20th century, one prominent figure with the Fontes surname was Henrique de Carvalho Fontes, a Portuguese lawyer and politician who served as the Minister of Justice and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the early 1900s.
While the Fontes surname is predominantly Portuguese in origin, it has also been adopted in other regions, particularly in Brazil and other former Portuguese colonies, due to the country's colonial history and migration patterns.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fontes
Among Census respondents with the surname Fontes, the largest self-reported group is White at 49.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (30.2%) and Black (12.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Fontes 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 Fontes surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White49.7% · 2,153
- Hispanic or Latino30.2% · 1,311
- Black or African American12.9% · 559
- Two or more races4.5% · 195
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 89
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 28
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fontes
Fontes 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
#7,437
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,478
+727 bearers (+19.4%)
Per 100,000 1.52
Rank movement Up 702 places
2020
#7,416
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,335
-143 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 1.45
Rank movement Up 21 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,139 | 3,751 | 1.39 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,437 | 4,478 | 1.52 | +727 bearers (+19.4%) | Up 702 places |
| 2020 | #7,416 | 4,335 | 1.45 | -143 bearers (-3.2%) | Up 21 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 Fontes 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 | #7,437 | #7,416 | 0.3% |
| Count | 4,478 | 4,335 | -3.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.52 | 1.45 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fontes bearers went from 4,478 to 4,335 (-3.2% change). The surname moved up 21 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,437 to #7,416.
FAQ
Fontes surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fontes?
Name Census estimates that about 4,971 living Americans carry the surname Fontes. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 68,951 residents.
How common is Fontes?
Fontes ranks #7,416 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.45 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 4,335 people with the surname Fontes. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,971), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.45 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.45 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 Fontes.
Has Fontes become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fontes went from 4,478 recorded bearers to 4,335. That is a decrease of 143 (-3.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #7,437 to #7,416.
What does the Census say about the background of Fontes?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fontes, the largest self-reported group is White at 49.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (30.2%) and Black (12.9%). 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 Fontes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.7% (2,153 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fontes appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (49.7%), Hispanic (30.2%), Black (12.9%). 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 Fontes (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 Fontes mean?
Derived from a Portuguese and Spanish topographic name referring to someone who lived near springs or fountains. 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 Fontes (1.45 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 Fontes?
Want to know how many people are called Fontes? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.