2000
#12,418
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,292
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.85
Rare Last name
Foulk
An English occupational surname referring to a person who kept and trained falcons for hunting.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,549 Americans carry the last name Foulk. That puts it at #13,176 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.74 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 134,466 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Foulk 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 Foulk with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.5K
1 in 134,466
Census rank
#13,176
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,223 bearers of the surname Foulk in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.74 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13176th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Foulk, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Foulk
The surname FOULK is of Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from the personal name Fulk, a Germanic name meaning "people" or "folk". This name was introduced into England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. It is believed that the name was first established in Staffordshire, England, where some of the earliest records of the surname can be found.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a record from Oxfordshire mentions a landowner named Fulco. This is considered one of the earliest documented instances of the name in England. Over time, the spelling of the surname evolved to include variations such as Foulk, Foulke, and Fowlke.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname FOULK was Sir Adam Foulk, a knight who lived in Staffordshire during the 13th century. Another notable bearer of the name was Sir Thomas Foulk, who served as a member of parliament for Staffordshire in the late 14th century.
In the 16th century, the surname FOULK was found in various parts of England, including Staffordshire, Lancashire, and Yorkshire. One prominent individual from this era was John Foulk, a merchant and alderman of the City of London, who lived from around 1520 to 1585.
The surname FOULK also has a connection to place names in England. For example, the village of Foulk in Staffordshire is believed to be named after an early bearer of the surname.
Moving into the 17th century, one notable individual with the surname FOULK was Roger Foulk, a Puritan minister who emigrated from England to Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1630s. He served as a minister in several towns, including Hingham and Salem.
Another significant bearer of the name was Benjamin Foulk, an American soldier and farmer who lived from 1741 to 1819. He fought in the American Revolutionary War and later settled in Pennsylvania, where he became a prominent landowner.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the surname FOULK continued to be found in various parts of England and the United States. Notable individuals from this period included John Foulk, an American politician and businessman born in 1789, and William Dudley Foulk, an American author and reformer born in 1848.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Foulk
Among Census respondents with the surname Foulk, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Foulk 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 Foulk surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.8% · 1,996
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 93
- Two or more races3.9% · 86
- Black or African American1.7% · 37
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Foulk
Foulk 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
#13,115
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,337
+45 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Down 697 places
2020
#13,176
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,223
-114 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 61 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,418 | 2,292 | 0.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,115 | 2,337 | 0.79 | +45 bearers (+2.0%) | Down 697 places |
| 2020 | #13,176 | 2,223 | 0.74 | -114 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 61 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 Foulk 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 | #13,115 | #13,176 | -0.5% |
| Count | 2,337 | 2,223 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.79 | 0.74 | -5.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Foulk bearers went from 2,337 to 2,223 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 61 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,115 to #13,176.
FAQ
Foulk surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Foulk?
Name Census estimates that about 2,549 living Americans carry the surname Foulk. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 134,466 residents.
How common is Foulk?
Foulk ranks #13,176 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.74 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 2,223 people with the surname Foulk. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,549), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.74 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.74 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 Foulk.
Has Foulk become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Foulk went from 2,337 recorded bearers to 2,223. That is a decrease of 114 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,115 to #13,176.
What does the Census say about the background of Foulk?
Among Census respondents with the surname Foulk, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Foulk in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (1,996 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Foulk appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.8%), Hispanic (4.2%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Foulk (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 Foulk mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a person who kept and trained falcons for hunting. 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 Foulk (0.74 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 Foulk?
For a quick modern take, check how common the surname Foulk is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.