2000
#4,151
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,900
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.93
Rare Last name
Fort
A toponymic surname referring to someone who lived near or worked at a fortified place or stronghold.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,969 Americans carry the last name Fort. That puts it at #4,392 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 38,215 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fort 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Fort with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.0K
1 in 38,215
Census rank
#4,392
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,821 bearers of the surname Fort in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4392nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fort, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.5%. The next largest groups are Black (30.9%) and Hispanic (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fort
The surname FORT originates from England and France, and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old French word "fort," meaning "strong" or "fortified place." The name was often given to people who lived near a fort or castle, or who were tasked with guarding and defending these structures.
In England, the surname FORT first appeared in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which were records of landowners and their holdings. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was John Fort, who was listed as a landowner in Gloucestershire in the late 13th century.
During the Middle Ages, the FORT surname was also found in various parts of France, particularly in the northern regions. One notable example is Jehan Fort, a French soldier who fought in the Hundred Years' War against the English in the 14th century.
The FORT surname has been associated with several place names, such as Fort William in Scotland, which was named after William III of England, and Fort Lauderdale in Florida, named after a British soldier named Major William Lauderdale.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname FORT. One of the most famous was Benjamin Franklin's wife, Deborah Read Fort (1708-1774), who was a skilled businesswoman and a respected figure in colonial Philadelphia.
Another notable bearer of the FORT surname was Sir Sampson Fort (1585-1639), an English merchant and politician who served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1629. He was a wealthy businessman and was knighted by King Charles I.
In the literary world, the American poet and novelist Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) had a close friend and correspondent named Samuel Bowles Fort (1828-1886), who was a publisher and editor of the Springfield Republican newspaper.
During the American Civil War, John Franklin Fort (1822-1901) was a Union Army officer who served as a brigadier general and played a significant role in several battles, including the Battle of Missionary Ridge.
Lastly, one of the earliest known bearers of the FORT surname was Robert Fort (c. 1170-1235), an English nobleman and landowner who served as the Sheriff of Warwickshire and Leicestershire in the early 13th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fort
Among Census respondents with the surname Fort, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.5%. The next largest groups are Black (30.9%) and Hispanic (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Fort 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 Fort surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.5% · 4,577
- Black or African American30.9% · 2,420
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 365
- Two or more races4.6% · 360
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 60
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 39
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fort
Fort 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
#4,382
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,117
+217 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 2.75
Rank movement Down 231 places
2020
#4,392
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,821
-296 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 2.62
Rank movement Down 10 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,151 | 7,900 | 2.93 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,382 | 8,117 | 2.75 | +217 bearers (+2.7%) | Down 231 places |
| 2020 | #4,392 | 7,821 | 2.62 | -296 bearers (-3.6%) | Down 10 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 Fort 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 | #4,382 | #4,392 | -0.2% |
| Count | 8,117 | 7,821 | -3.6% |
| Per 100K | 2.75 | 2.62 | -4.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fort bearers went from 8,117 to 7,821 (-3.6% change). The surname moved down 10 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,382 to #4,392.
FAQ
Fort surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fort?
Name Census estimates that about 8,969 living Americans carry the surname Fort. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 38,215 residents.
How common is Fort?
Fort ranks #4,392 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.62 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,821 people with the surname Fort. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,969), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.62 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Fort.
Has Fort become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fort went from 8,117 recorded bearers to 7,821. That is a decrease of 296 (-3.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,382 to #4,392.
What does the Census say about the background of Fort?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fort, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.5%. The next largest groups are Black (30.9%) and Hispanic (4.7%). 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 Fort in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.5% (4,577 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fort appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (58.5%), Black (30.9%), Hispanic (4.7%). 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 Fort (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 Fort mean?
A toponymic surname referring to someone who lived near or worked at a fortified place or stronghold. 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 Fort (2.62 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 have the last name Fort?
You can see how many people have the last name Fort on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.