2000
#3,913
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,357
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.10
Rare Last name
Fries
A German and Dutch occupational surname referring to someone who lived near brushwood or on overgrown, swampy land.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,965 Americans carry the last name Fries. That puts it at #4,395 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 38,232 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fries 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
9.0K
1 in 38,232
Census rank
#4,395
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,818 bearers of the surname Fries in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4395th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fries, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fries
The surname Fries is of German origin and can be traced back to the 13th century. It originated as a topographic name for someone who lived near a marshy or swampy area, derived from the Middle High German word "vries" meaning "marsh" or "swamp".
In its earliest recorded forms, the name appeared as "Vries", "Vriz", or "Friese" in various medieval records and documents from the regions of present-day northern Germany and the Netherlands. It is believed that the name may have initially referred to inhabitants of the Frisian lands, which included parts of the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Johannes Vries, a merchant from Hamburg, who was mentioned in a trade record from 1278. Another notable early bearer was Henricus Vries, a landowner from the Dutch province of Friesland, whose name appeared in a land deed from 1321.
As the name spread and evolved over time, it took on various spellings such as Fries, Friess, Friese, and Fryse. In the 16th century, the name Fries appeared in the records of the city of Cologne, where a merchant named Johann Fries was documented in 1562.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Fries. One of the most famous was Jacob Friedrich Fries (1773-1843), a German philosopher and mathematician who made significant contributions to the fields of logic and epistemology.
Another notable bearer was Ernst Fries (1801-1833), a German botanist and bryologist, who is remembered for his contributions to the study of mosses and liverworts. He was born in Altenkirchen, Germany, and his works included the influential "Systema Orbis Vegetabilis" published in 1825.
In the realm of art, there was the German painter and engraver Ernst Fries (1801-1833), best known for his landscapes and etchings of architectural subjects. His works can be found in collections across Europe.
The surname Fries has also been associated with notable figures in literature. One example is the German author and poet Jakob Fries (1825-1886), who is remembered for his poetic works and his contributions to the literary scene of the 19th century.
Another bearer of the name was the Dutch historian and archivist Pieter Fries (1611-1677), who served as the city archivist of Leiden and wrote extensively on the history of the Netherlands during the Dutch Golden Age.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fries
Among Census respondents with the surname Fries, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Fries 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 Fries surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.2% · 7,132
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 295
- Two or more races2.9% · 229
- Black or African American1.1% · 83
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 58
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 21
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fries
Fries 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
#4,150
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,540
+183 bearers (+2.2%)
Per 100,000 2.90
Rank movement Down 237 places
2020
#4,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,818
-722 bearers (-8.5%)
Per 100,000 2.62
Rank movement Down 245 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,913 | 8,357 | 3.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,150 | 8,540 | 2.90 | +183 bearers (+2.2%) | Down 237 places |
| 2020 | #4,395 | 7,818 | 2.62 | -722 bearers (-8.5%) | Down 245 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 Fries 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 | #4,150 | #4,395 | -5.9% |
| Count | 8,540 | 7,818 | -8.5% |
| Per 100K | 2.90 | 2.62 | -9.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fries bearers went from 8,540 to 7,818 (-8.5% change). The surname moved down 245 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,150 to #4,395.
FAQ
Fries surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fries?
Name Census estimates that about 8,965 living Americans carry the surname Fries. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 38,232 residents.
How common is Fries?
Fries ranks #4,395 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.62 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,818 people with the surname Fries. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,965), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.62 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Fries.
Has Fries become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fries went from 8,540 recorded bearers to 7,818. That is a decrease of 722 (-8.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,150 to #4,395.
What does the Census say about the background of Fries?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fries, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Fries in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.2% (7,132 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fries appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.2%), Hispanic (3.8%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Fries (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 Fries mean?
A German and Dutch occupational surname referring to someone who lived near brushwood or on overgrown, swampy land. 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 Fries (2.62 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 many people have the last name Fries?
Want to know how common the surname Fries is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.