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

Foulke, 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 Foulke surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Foulke in America

Foulke is the 22301st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Foulke surname appeared 1,156 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 Foulke.

We can also compare 2010 data for Foulke 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 Foulke

The surname FOULKE is of Anglo-Norman French origin, derived from the personal name Fulk, itself a Germanic name composed of the elements "folk" meaning people and "ric" meaning power or rule.

The name FOULKE is believed to have been introduced to England after the Norman Conquest of 1066, when many Norman nobles and knights settled in various parts of the country. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions individuals with variations of the name such as Fulco and Fulcous.

In the Middle Ages, the FOULKE surname was particularly prevalent in the counties of Shropshire, Staffordshire, and Derbyshire, where several families bearing the name held land and property. The name was also found in other parts of England, including Yorkshire and Norfolk.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the FOULKE surname is Sir Fulk FitzWarin, a 12th-century Norman knight who played a significant role in the conflicts between King John and the barons. Another notable figure was Fulk de Breaute, a 13th-century military commander and advisor to King John.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the FOULKE surname continued to be prominent in various parts of England. John Foulke (c. 1520-1584) was a Welsh landowner and Member of Parliament for Denbighshire. Thomas Foulke (1563-1634) was an English soldier and colonist who was among the first settlers of the Virginia Colony in North America.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, individuals with the FOULKE surname made contributions in various fields. Benjamin Foulke (1742-1808) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a delegate to the Continental Congress. Robert Foulke (1763-1848) was a British naval officer and explorer who surveyed parts of the Pacific Ocean.

Another notable bearer of the FOULKE surname was William Parker Foulke (1816-1865), an American artist known for his landscape paintings. In the field of science, Martin Foulke (1833-1909) was an American physicist and educator who made significant contributions to the study of electricity and magnetism.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Foulke

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

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

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

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