2000
#5,809
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,452
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.02
Rare Last name
Fouts
Derived from the Middle English word "foud," meaning an official or magistrate, likely referring to an ancestor's occupation.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,988 Americans carry the last name Fouts. That puts it at #6,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 57,240 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fouts 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.
Bearers in the US
6.0K
1 in 57,240
Census rank
#6,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,222 bearers of the surname Fouts in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fouts, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fouts
The surname Fouts is believed to have originated in Germany, specifically in the southern regions around Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. It is thought to have derived from the Germanic word "fud," which means "foot." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to a person with a distinctive foot or gait.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, dating back to the 13th century. In this text, a certain "Henricus Fouts" is mentioned as a landowner in the region.
During the Middle Ages, the name appeared to have spread across various parts of central Europe, with variations in spelling such as Foutz, Fautz, and Fautzsch. There are records of individuals with these surnames in medieval tax rolls and property deeds from cities like Nuremberg and Augsburg.
In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing this name was Johannes Fouts, a German cartographer and mathematician who was born in Würzburg in 1521 and died in 1590. He produced several detailed maps of the German states and made significant contributions to the field of cartography.
Another prominent individual was Johann Baptist Fouts, a Bavarian composer and organist who lived from 1721 to 1789. He composed numerous works for the church and is considered an important figure in the development of sacred music during the Baroque period.
In the 19th century, a German-American industrialist named Heinrich Fouts (1832-1912) immigrated to the United States and established a successful manufacturing company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His business played a crucial role in the city's industrial growth during that era.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in North America can be traced back to the late 17th century, when a family by the name of Fouts settled in the colony of Pennsylvania. Over time, the surname spread to other parts of the United States and Canada, with some variations in spelling emerging, such as Foutts and Foutes.
Throughout its history, the surname Fouts has been associated with various occupations, including farmers, artisans, merchants, and professionals. While it may have originated from a descriptive term, the name has evolved to become a distinctive marker of identity for families across different regions and cultures.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fouts
Among Census respondents with the surname Fouts, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Fouts 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 Fouts surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.2% · 4,709
- Two or more races4.4% · 229
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 135
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 63
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 59
- Black or African American0.5% · 27
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fouts
Fouts 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
#6,171
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,545
+93 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 1.88
Rank movement Down 362 places
2020
#6,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,222
-323 bearers (-5.8%)
Per 100,000 1.75
Rank movement Down 99 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,809 | 5,452 | 2.02 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,171 | 5,545 | 1.88 | +93 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 362 places |
| 2020 | #6,270 | 5,222 | 1.75 | -323 bearers (-5.8%) | Down 99 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 Fouts 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 | #6,171 | #6,270 | -1.6% |
| Count | 5,545 | 5,222 | -5.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.88 | 1.75 | -7.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fouts bearers went from 5,545 to 5,222 (-5.8% change). The surname moved down 99 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,171 to #6,270.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Fouts
FAQ
Fouts surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fouts?
Name Census estimates that about 5,988 living Americans carry the surname Fouts. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 57,240 residents.
How common is Fouts?
Fouts ranks #6,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.75 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,222 people with the surname Fouts. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,988), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.75 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Fouts.
Has Fouts become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fouts went from 5,545 recorded bearers to 5,222. That is a decrease of 323 (-5.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,171 to #6,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Fouts?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fouts, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Fouts in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.2% (4,709 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fouts appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.2%), Two or More Races (4.4%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Fouts (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 Fouts mean?
Derived from the Middle English word "foud," meaning an official or magistrate, likely referring to an ancestor's occupation. 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 Fouts (1.75 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 last name Fouts?
Want to know how many people are called Fouts? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.