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

Fowlkes, 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 Fowlkes surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fowlkes in America

Fowlkes is the 7135th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fowlkes surname appeared 4,686 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Fowlkes.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fowlkes 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 Fowlkes

The surname Fowlkes originated in England in the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English words "fugol" meaning bird and "leac" meaning meadow or field. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a meadow where birds gathered.

The earliest recorded spelling of the name was as Fowlkes in 1273, found in the Hundred Rolls of Yorkshire. Similar early spellings included Foulkes, Fowlks, and Fowlks. By the 15th century, the name was well-established in various counties across England.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John Fowlkes, born around 1480 in Holbeach, Lincolnshire. He was a prominent landowner and farmer in the region. Another early record is of Thomas Fowlkes, born in 1529 in Scarborough, Yorkshire, who was a merchant and alderman in the town.

The Fowlkes name appeared in the Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded landowners and tenants across England after the Norman conquest. However, the exact entry is unclear due to variations in spelling and transcription over the centuries.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, several members of the Fowlkes family gained prominence. Sir Roger Fowlkes, born in 1568 in Norfolk, was a renowned military leader who served in the English Civil War. Elizabeth Fowlkes, born in 1612 in Suffolk, was a renowned poet and writer during the Renaissance period.

Other notable individuals with the Fowlkes surname include William Fowlkes, born in 1743 in Virginia, who was a American Revolutionary War soldier and later a prominent farmer and landowner. John Fowlkes, born in 1785 in Tennessee, was a politician and served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1833 to 1837.

The Fowlkes name has been associated with various place names over the centuries, such as Fowlkes Farm in Sussex, Fowlkes Manor in Gloucestershire, and Fowlkes Green in Kent. These place names likely originated from the presence of Fowlkes families in those areas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fowlkes

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

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

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

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