2000
#15,765
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,699
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.63
Rare Last name
Fred
Derived from the Old English name "Frēderic" meaning "peaceful ruler".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,142 Americans carry the last name Fred. That puts it at #15,152 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 160,016 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fred 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 Fred with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 160,016
Census rank
#15,152
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,868 bearers of the surname Fred in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15152nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fred, the largest self-reported group is White at 45.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (29.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (8.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fred
The surname FRED is of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin, derived from the Old English word "frið" meaning "peace" or "peaceful." It is believed to have originated in the 7th or 8th century in the northern region of England, particularly in areas such as Northumbria and Yorkshire.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name FRED can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Freddi" in the county of Yorkshire. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by the time of the Norman Conquest.
During the medieval period, the name FRED was often associated with landed gentry and minor nobility. In the 13th century, a family bearing the name Fredesone held lands in the village of Fryston, near Pontefract in Yorkshire. This place name is thought to have derived from a combination of the surname and the Old English word "tun" meaning "town" or "settlement."
In the 14th century, a notable figure named John FRED (c. 1310-1378) was a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of York. His descendants continued to be influential members of the city's mercantile class for several generations.
Another significant bearer of the FRED surname was Sir William FRED (c. 1470-1535), a knight and landowner from Lincolnshire. He served as a member of the Privy Council under King Henry VIII and played a role in the dissolution of the monasteries.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the FRED surname spread to other parts of England, as well as to Scotland and Ireland. In the 18th century, a branch of the family settled in the American colonies, with James FRED (1725-1795) becoming a wealthy plantation owner in Virginia.
Other notable individuals with the FRED surname include:
- Thomas FRED (1778-1852), an English poet and writer.
- Elizabeth FRED (1829-1914), an American educator and suffragist.
- Sir Henry FRED (1863-1949), a British admiral and First Sea Lord.
- Walter FRED (1895-1976), an American baseball player and manager.
While the FRED surname has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, such as Frede, Fredd, and Fredde, its origins can be traced back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon word for "peace" and its early roots in northern England.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fred
Among Census respondents with the surname Fred, the largest self-reported group is White at 45.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (29.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (8.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Fred 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 Fred surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White45.4% · 849
- Hispanic or Latino29.3% · 548
- American Indian and Alaska Native8.5% · 158
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.4% · 157
- Black or African American6.7% · 126
- Two or more races1.6% · 30
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fred
Fred 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
#16,407
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,754
+55 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 0.59
Rank movement Down 642 places
2020
#15,152
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,868
+114 bearers (+6.5%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Up 1,255 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,765 | 1,699 | 0.63 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,407 | 1,754 | 0.59 | +55 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 642 places |
| 2020 | #15,152 | 1,868 | 0.62 | +114 bearers (+6.5%) | Up 1,255 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 Fred 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 | #16,407 | #15,152 | 7.6% |
| Count | 1,754 | 1,868 | 6.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.59 | 0.62 | 5.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fred bearers went from 1,754 to 1,868 (+6.5% change). The surname moved up 1,255 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,407 to #15,152.
FAQ
Fred surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fred?
Name Census estimates that about 2,142 living Americans carry the surname Fred. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 160,016 residents.
How common is Fred?
Fred ranks #15,152 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,868 people with the surname Fred. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,142), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.62 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Fred.
Has Fred become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fred went from 1,754 recorded bearers to 1,868. That is an increase of 114 (+6.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #16,407 to #15,152.
What does the Census say about the background of Fred?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fred, the largest self-reported group is White at 45.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (29.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (8.5%). 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 Fred in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.4% (849 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fred appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (45.4%), Hispanic (29.3%), American Indian/Alaska Native (8.5%). 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 Fred (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 Fred mean?
Derived from the Old English name "Frēderic" meaning "peaceful ruler". 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 Fred (0.62 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 common is the surname Fred?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Fred, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.