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

Foulkes, 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 Foulkes surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Foulkes in America

Foulkes is the 27354th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Foulkes surname appeared 883 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 Foulkes.

We can also compare 2010 data for Foulkes 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 Foulkes

The surname Foulkes originated in Wales during the late medieval period, deriving from the Welsh personal name Foulk or Fulk. This name is believed to have been introduced to Britain by the Normans after their conquest in 1066. The name Foulk itself can be traced back to the Germanic words "folk" meaning "people" and "ric" meaning "ruler" or "power."

The earliest recorded instances of the Foulkes surname can be found in Welsh records from the 13th and 14th centuries, where it appeared in various spellings such as Foulk, Fulk, Foulkes, and Fowlkes. These early occurrences were often associated with landowners and minor nobility in Wales.

One notable early figure bearing the Foulkes surname was Sir David Foulkes, a Welsh knight who fought alongside King Edward I during the conquest of Wales in the late 13th century. Another significant historical reference is the appearance of the name in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is recorded as "Fulcus" and "Fulchius."

As the Foulkes family proliferated, they established themselves in various parts of Wales, with some branches eventually settling in neighboring regions of England. Notable individuals with this surname include Sir Martin Foulkes (1624-1681), a Welsh lawyer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament during the English Civil War. Richard Foulkes (1671-1735) was a Welsh clergyman and author who published several religious works in the early 18th century.

Other notable figures bearing the Foulkes surname include Sir Martin Foulkes (1898-1976), a British civil servant and diplomat who served as Governor of Malta from 1954 to 1957, and Phyllida Ann Foulkes (1945-2019), a British actress and writer known for her work in television and theatre.

While the Foulkes surname has its roots in Wales, it has since spread across the globe, with descendants found in various countries, particularly in regions with strong Welsh heritage or migration patterns.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Foulkes

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!