2000
#838
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 37,542
First available Census row
Per 100,000 13.92
Uncommon Last name
Fry
An occupational surname referring to someone who fried food or worked as a fryer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 42,080 Americans carry the last name Fry. That puts it at #931 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 12.28 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 8,145 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fry 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 Fry with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
42K
1 in 8,145
Census rank
#931
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
12.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
37K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 36,696 bearers of the surname Fry in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 12.28 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 931st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fry, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fry
The surname Fry has its origins in England, dating back to the 12th century. It is an occupational name derived from the Old English word 'fry', meaning a person who cooked or fried food. The name likely referred to someone who worked as a fryer, a cook, or a seller of fried foods.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Fry can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1191, where a person named William Fry is mentioned. The name also appears in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, which lists a Peter le Frye.
During the 13th century, the name Fry began to appear in various regions of England, including Wiltshire, Somerset, and Devon. It is believed that the name may have originated in these areas, particularly in the West Country.
In the 14th century, the name Fry was found in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire, where a Johannes le Fry was recorded in 1348. The name was also mentioned in the Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire in 1379, where a Thomas Fry was listed.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name Fry was Sir Walter Fry, a Member of Parliament for Cambridgeshire in the late 16th century (c. 1550-1611). Another notable figure was John Fry (1609-1657), an English clergyman and writer who served as the Vicar of Merston in Wiltshire.
In the 17th century, the name Fry gained prominence with Joseph Fry (1728-1787), a Quaker chocolate maker from Bristol. His descendant, Joseph Storrs Fry (1767-1835), continued the family business and helped establish the Fry's chocolate company, which became one of the largest producers of chocolate in England.
Other notable individuals with the surname Fry include:
- Elizabeth Fry (1780-1845), a prominent English prison reformer and philanthropist.
- Roger Fry (1866-1934), an English artist and art critic who was a member of the Bloomsbury Group.
- Christopher Fry (1907-2005), an English playwright and playwright, known for his verse dramas.
- Stephen Fry (born 1957), a British actor, comedian, writer, and television presenter.
The surname Fry has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, including Frey, Frye, and Frye, reflecting the regional dialects and pronunciation differences across England. However, the name has maintained its occupational roots and has become widely distributed throughout the United Kingdom and other parts of the English-speaking world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fry
Among Census respondents with the surname Fry, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Fry 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 Fry surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.6% · 32,502
- Two or more races3.7% · 1,357
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 1,198
- Black or African American2.9% · 1,064
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 332
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 243
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fry
Fry 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
#909
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 38,029
+487 bearers (+1.3%)
Per 100,000 12.89
Rank movement Down 71 places
2020
#931
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 36,696
-1,333 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 12.28
Rank movement Down 22 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #838 | 37,542 | 13.92 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #909 | 38,029 | 12.89 | +487 bearers (+1.3%) | Down 71 places |
| 2020 | #931 | 36,696 | 12.28 | -1,333 bearers (-3.5%) | Down 22 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 Fry 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 | #909 | #931 | -2.4% |
| Count | 38,029 | 36,696 | -3.5% |
| Per 100K | 12.89 | 12.28 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fry bearers went from 38,029 to 36,696 (-3.5% change). The surname moved down 22 positions in the national ranking, going from #909 to #931.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Fry
FAQ
Fry surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fry?
Name Census estimates that about 42,080 living Americans carry the surname Fry. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 8,145 residents.
How common is Fry?
Fry ranks #931 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 12.28 per 100,000 residents, which is about 12 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 36,696 people with the surname Fry. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (42,080), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 12.28 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 12.28 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 12 of them to have the surname Fry.
Has Fry become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fry went from 38,029 recorded bearers to 36,696. That is a decrease of 1,333 (-3.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #909 to #931.
What does the Census say about the background of Fry?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fry, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (3.3%). 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 Fry in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.6% (32,502 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fry appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.6%), Two or More Races (3.7%), Hispanic (3.3%). 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 Fry (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 Fry mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who fried food or worked as a fryer. 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 Fry (12.28 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 are called Fry?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Fry, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.