2000
#10,609
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,772
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.03
Rare Last name
Fryar
An occupational surname referring to a fryer, one who fried or cooked food.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,189 Americans carry the last name Fryar. That puts it at #10,936 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.93 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 107,480 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fryar 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 Fryar with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.2K
1 in 107,480
Census rank
#10,936
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,781 bearers of the surname Fryar in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.93 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10936th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fryar, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.8%. The next largest groups are Black (28.2%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fryar
The surname Fryar is of English origin and can be traced back to the late 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old French word "frere," which means "friar" or "brother." This name was often given to individuals who had some association with a monastic order or lived near a monastery.
In medieval England, the surname Fryar was commonly found in areas with a strong monastic presence, such as Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Gloucestershire. One of the earliest recorded instances of this name appears in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from the year 1195, where a person named "Robert le Frere" is mentioned.
The surname Fryar also appears in the renowned Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners and tenants commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This historical document records a person named "Ailric Frere" as a landowner in Oxfordshire.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, the surname Fryar was sometimes spelled as "Fryer" or "Frier," reflecting the regional variations in pronunciation and spelling. In the 16th century, the name was often associated with individuals involved in the brewing or baking trades, as the term "friar" was also used to refer to a type of baker or brewer.
One notable individual with the surname Fryar was John Fryar (c. 1505-1584), an English Protestant reformer and Church of England clergyman. He served as the Bishop of Gloucester from 1576 until his death.
Another prominent figure was Sir Jasper Fryar (1609-1671), an English merchant and politician who served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1666, during the Great Fire of London.
In the 18th century, William Fryar (1700-1784) was a renowned English architect responsible for designing several notable buildings, including the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford.
Thomas Fryar (1801-1876) was a British naval officer and explorer who conducted surveys and explorations in the Pacific Ocean and the Arctic regions.
Lastly, John Fryar (1869-1942) was an English footballer who played as a forward and represented England at the international level in the late 19th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fryar
Among Census respondents with the surname Fryar, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.8%. The next largest groups are Black (28.2%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Fryar 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 Fryar surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.8% · 1,719
- Black or African American28.2% · 784
- Two or more races4.9% · 135
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 85
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 42
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fryar
Fryar 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
#11,016
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,887
+115 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.98
Rank movement Down 407 places
2020
#10,936
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,781
-106 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 0.93
Rank movement Up 80 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,609 | 2,772 | 1.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,016 | 2,887 | 0.98 | +115 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 407 places |
| 2020 | #10,936 | 2,781 | 0.93 | -106 bearers (-3.7%) | Up 80 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 Fryar 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 | #11,016 | #10,936 | 0.7% |
| Count | 2,887 | 2,781 | -3.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.98 | 0.93 | -5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fryar bearers went from 2,887 to 2,781 (-3.7% change). The surname moved up 80 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,016 to #10,936.
FAQ
Fryar surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fryar?
Name Census estimates that about 3,189 living Americans carry the surname Fryar. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 107,480 residents.
How common is Fryar?
Fryar ranks #10,936 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.93 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 2,781 people with the surname Fryar. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,189), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.93 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.93 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 Fryar.
Has Fryar become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fryar went from 2,887 recorded bearers to 2,781. That is a decrease of 106 (-3.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #11,016 to #10,936.
What does the Census say about the background of Fryar?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fryar, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.8%. The next largest groups are Black (28.2%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Fryar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.8% (1,719 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fryar appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (61.8%), Black (28.2%), Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Fryar (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 Fryar mean?
An occupational surname referring to a fryer, one who fried or cooked food. 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 Fryar (0.93 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 share the surname Fryar?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.