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

Foo, 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 Foo surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Foo in America

Foo is the 19282nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Foo surname appeared 1,405 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 Foo.

We can also compare 2010 data for Foo 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 Foo

The surname FOO is believed to have its origins in the Middle English word "foo", which was a term used to refer to an enemy or opponent. The name can be traced back to the 13th century in England, particularly in the northern regions around Yorkshire and Lancashire.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name FOO can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire from 1297, where a man named John Foo is listed as a taxpayer. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by the late 13th century.

During the 14th century, the surname FOO appears in several historical records, including the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in 1322, where a William Foo is mentioned. The name is also present in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of Lancashire in 1332, indicating its spread to neighboring counties.

In the 15th century, the name FOO can be found in the Paston Letters, a collection of correspondence between members of the affluent Paston family in Norfolk. One letter, dated around 1472, mentions a certain John Foo, who was involved in a legal dispute over land ownership.

The Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, does not contain any direct references to the surname FOO. However, it is possible that the name evolved from more ancient place names or occupational titles recorded in the survey.

Notable individuals with the surname FOO include:

1. Sir Thomas Foo (c. 1550 - 1621), an English politician and Member of Parliament who served during the reign of King James I.
2. Margaret Foo (1628 - 1693), a Puritan author and poet from Massachusetts Bay Colony, known for her religious writings and hymns.
3. Captain James Foo (1714 - 1777), a British naval officer who distinguished himself during the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War.
4. Sir Henry Foo (1801 - 1879), a prominent British industrialist and philanthropist who made significant contributions to the development of the textile industry in Yorkshire.
5. Emily Foo (1867 - 1944), an American suffragette and activist who played a significant role in securing women's right to vote in the United States.

While the surname FOO may have evolved over centuries, its roots can be traced back to the Middle English language and the northern counties of England, where it first gained prominence as a surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Foo

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

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

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

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