2000
#167
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 147,357
First available Census row
Per 100,000 54.62
Common Last name
Fox
An English surname referring to a cunning or clever person, or someone with red hair or a fox-like appearance.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 171,730 Americans carry the last name Fox. That puts it at #180 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 50.10 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,996 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fox 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 Fox with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
172K
1 in 1,996
Census rank
#180
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
50.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
150K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 149,757 bearers of the surname Fox in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 50.10 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 180th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fox, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.8%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fox
The surname Fox is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "fox" which referred to the animal. It likely originated as a nickname for someone who was considered cunning or crafty, or perhaps someone who was known for hunting foxes.
The name can be traced back to the 11th century and is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of land and property ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname is William le Fox, mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire in 1195.
The surname Fox may also have been derived from place names such as Foxhall, Foxcote, or Foxley, which were often descriptive of areas where foxes were found or hunted. These place names can be found in various counties across England, including Norfolk, Suffolk, and Wiltshire.
In the 13th century, the surname Fox appeared in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which were records of land ownership and taxation in England. One notable entry was that of Richard le Fox from Oxfordshire.
Throughout history, there have been several prominent individuals with the surname Fox. One of the earliest was John Fox, an English Protestant martyrologist who lived from 1516 to 1587. He is best known for his work "Acts and Monuments," popularly known as the "Book of Martyrs," which documented the persecution of Protestants during the reign of Queen Mary I.
Another famous bearer of the name was George Fox (1624-1691), the founder of the Religious Society of Friends, also known as the Quakers. He was a prominent figure in the religious and social movements of the 17th century and played a significant role in advocating for religious tolerance and non-violence.
In the realm of literature, Charles James Fox (1749-1806) was a prominent British statesman and orator who served as the Leader of the House of Commons and Foreign Secretary. He was a vocal supporter of the American Revolution and a champion of parliamentary reform.
Moving to the 19th century, John Foxe (1816-1892) was an English industrialist and inventor who developed the first commercially successful compound textile weaving machine, known as the Foxe's Circular Loom.
In the field of science, Sir William Fox Talbot (1800-1877) was an English photographer and pioneer in the development of photographic processes, including the calotype process, which laid the groundwork for modern photography.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fox
Among Census respondents with the surname Fox, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.8%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Fox 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 Fox surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.0% · 127,238
- Black or African American5.8% · 8,669
- Two or more races3.9% · 5,799
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 5,419
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1,448
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1,184
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fox
Fox 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
#180
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 152,334
+4,977 bearers (+3.4%)
Per 100,000 51.64
Rank movement Down 13 places
2020
#180
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 149,757
-2,577 bearers (-1.7%)
Per 100,000 50.10
Rank movement No rank change
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #167 | 147,357 | 54.62 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #180 | 152,334 | 51.64 | +4,977 bearers (+3.4%) | Down 13 places |
| 2020 | #180 | 149,757 | 50.10 | -2,577 bearers (-1.7%) | No rank change |
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 Fox 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 | #180 | #180 | 0.0% |
| Count | 152,334 | 149,757 | -1.7% |
| Per 100K | 51.64 | 50.10 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fox bearers went from 152,334 to 149,757 (-1.7% change). The surname held its position in the national ranking, remaining at #180.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Fox
FAQ
Fox surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fox?
Name Census estimates that about 171,730 living Americans carry the surname Fox. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,996 residents.
How common is Fox?
Fox ranks #180 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 50.10 per 100,000 residents, which is about 50 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 149,757 people with the surname Fox. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (171,730), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 50.1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 50.10 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 50 of them to have the surname Fox.
Has Fox become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fox went from 152,334 recorded bearers to 149,757. That is a decrease of 2,577 (-1.7%). In the national ranking it stayed at #180.
What does the Census say about the background of Fox?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fox, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.8%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Fox in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.0% (127,238 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fox appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.0%), Black (5.8%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Fox (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 Fox mean?
An English surname referring to a cunning or clever person, or someone with red hair or a fox-like appearance. 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 Fox (50.10 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 Fox?
See how many Americans have the surname Fox on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.