2000
#27,386
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 829
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.31
Very Rare Last name
Foulkes
Of English origin, a locational surname referring to someone from a place called Foulks.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 949 Americans carry the last name Foulkes. That puts it at #30,247 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.28 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 361,174 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Foulkes 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 Foulkes with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
949
1 in 361,174
Census rank
#30,247
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
828
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 828 bearers of the surname Foulkes in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.28 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 30247th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Foulkes, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.0%. The next largest groups are Black (19.6%) and Hispanic (5.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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 Another significant historical reference is the appearance of the name in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is recorded as "Fulcus" and "Fulchius."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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Foulkes
Among Census respondents with the surname Foulkes, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.0%. The next largest groups are Black (19.6%) and Hispanic (5.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Foulkes 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 Foulkes surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.0% · 571
- Black or African American19.6% · 162
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 41
- Two or more races3.3% · 27
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Foulkes
Foulkes 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
#27,354
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 883
+54 bearers (+6.5%)
Per 100,000 0.30
Rank movement Up 32 places
2020
#30,247
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 828
-55 bearers (-6.2%)
Per 100,000 0.28
Rank movement Down 2,893 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #27,386 | 829 | 0.31 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #27,354 | 883 | 0.30 | +54 bearers (+6.5%) | Up 32 places |
| 2020 | #30,247 | 828 | 0.28 | -55 bearers (-6.2%) | Down 2,893 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 Foulkes 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 | #27,354 | #30,247 | -10.6% |
| Count | 883 | 828 | -6.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.30 | 0.28 | -7.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Foulkes bearers went from 883 to 828 (-6.2% change). The surname moved down 2,893 positions in the national ranking, going from #27,354 to #30,247.
FAQ
Foulkes surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Foulkes?
Name Census estimates that about 949 living Americans carry the surname Foulkes. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 361,174 residents.
How common is Foulkes?
Foulkes ranks #30,247 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.28 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 828 people with the surname Foulkes. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (949), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.28 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.28 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Foulkes.
Has Foulkes become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Foulkes went from 883 recorded bearers to 828. That is a decrease of 55 (-6.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #27,354 to #30,247.
What does the Census say about the background of Foulkes?
Among Census respondents with the surname Foulkes, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.0%. The next largest groups are Black (19.6%) and Hispanic (5.0%). 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 Foulkes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.0% (571 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Foulkes appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (69.0%), Black (19.6%), Hispanic (5.0%). 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 Foulkes (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 Foulkes mean?
Of English origin, a locational surname referring to someone from a place called Foulks. 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 Foulkes (0.28 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 are called Foulkes?
See how many people have the last name Foulkes on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.