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

Fountain, 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 Fountain surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fountain in America

Fountain is the 1774th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fountain surname appeared 20,193 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 7 people would have the surname Fountain.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fountain 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 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.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fountain

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

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

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

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