2000
#1,720
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,094
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.08
Uncommon Last name
Fountain
An occupational surname for someone who lived near or worked with a fountain or natural spring.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 21,990 Americans carry the last name Fountain. That puts it at #1,835 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.42 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 15,587 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fountain 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 Fountain with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
22K
1 in 15,587
Census rank
#1,835
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
19K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 19,176 bearers of the surname Fountain in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.42 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1835th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fountain, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.3%. The next largest groups are Black (31.6%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fountain
The surname Fountain is of English origin, derived from the Old French word "fontaine," meaning a spring or fountain of water. This name likely originated as a topographic surname, given to someone who lived near a natural spring or fountain.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Fountain date back to the 13th century in various parts of England, particularly in counties like Yorkshire, Gloucestershire, and Oxfordshire. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was William de la Funteine, who was mentioned in the Feet of Fines records for Yorkshire in 1219.
The surname Fountain has also been recorded with various spelling variations throughout history, including Funteine, Funtayne, Fountayne, and Fowntayne. These variations often reflected regional dialects or the preferences of individual scribes who recorded names in official documents.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, there are several entries that may be related to the name Fountain, such as the place name "Fontanelle" in Wiltshire, which could have given rise to the surname over time.
One notable historical figure with the surname Fountain was Sir John Fountain (c. 1545-1608), an English soldier and Member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Another was Sir Erasmus Fountain (c. 1625-1701), an English politician and landowner who served as Sheriff of Buckinghamshire in 1677.
In the 16th century, the surname Fountain was also associated with the village of Fountain's Earth in North Yorkshire, suggesting a possible connection between the name and a specific geographic location.
Other notable individuals with the surname Fountain include:
1. John Fountain (1767-1836), an English clergyman and writer who served as Chaplain to the Prince of Wales.
2. Reverend Robert Fountain (1670-1737), an English Puritan minister and author known for his work "The Life and Ministry of the Rev. John Erskine."
3. Elijah Fountain (1775-1853), an American Baptist minister and abolitionist who founded the First African Baptist Church in Portland, Maine.
4. Lucy Fountain (1838-1921), an American educator and activist who established one of the first schools for African American children in Philadelphia.
5. John Fountain (born 1957), an American journalist and author who won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 2008.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fountain
Among Census respondents with the surname Fountain, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.3%. The next largest groups are Black (31.6%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Fountain 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 Fountain surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.3% · 11,379
- Black or African American31.6% · 6,063
- Two or more races4.5% · 859
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 651
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 114
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 110
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fountain
Fountain 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
#1,774
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,193
+1,099 bearers (+5.8%)
Per 100,000 6.85
Rank movement Down 54 places
2020
#1,835
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,176
-1,017 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 6.42
Rank movement Down 61 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,720 | 19,094 | 7.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,774 | 20,193 | 6.85 | +1,099 bearers (+5.8%) | Down 54 places |
| 2020 | #1,835 | 19,176 | 6.42 | -1,017 bearers (-5.0%) | 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 Fountain 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 | #1,774 | #1,835 | -3.4% |
| Count | 20,193 | 19,176 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 6.85 | 6.42 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fountain bearers went from 20,193 to 19,176 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 61 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,774 to #1,835.
FAQ
Fountain surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fountain?
Name Census estimates that about 21,990 living Americans carry the surname Fountain. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 15,587 residents.
How common is Fountain?
Fountain ranks #1,835 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.42 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 19,176 people with the surname Fountain. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (21,990), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.42 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.42 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Fountain.
Has Fountain become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fountain went from 20,193 recorded bearers to 19,176. That is a decrease of 1,017 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,774 to #1,835.
What does the Census say about the background of Fountain?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fountain, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.3%. The next largest groups are Black (31.6%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Fountain in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.3% (11,379 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fountain appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (59.3%), Black (31.6%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Fountain (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 Fountain mean?
An occupational surname for someone who lived near or worked with a fountain or natural spring. 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 Fountain (6.42 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 surname Fountain?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.