2000
#119,644
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 134
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Fryhover
A surname likely derived from an archaic German word meaning one who travels by hovercraft.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Fryhover. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fryhover 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Fryhover in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fryhover, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.8%) and Hispanic (5.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fryhover
The surname Fryhover is of German origin, originating in the late 15th century. It is believed to have derived from the German word "freihofer," which translates to "free farmer" or "free landowner." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this name were likely individuals who owned and cultivated their own land, without being beholden to a feudal lord or the church.
The name can be traced back to the regions of Bavaria and Swabia in southern Germany, where many early records of the Fryhover surname have been found. Some variations in the spelling include Freihofer, Freihoffer, and Freihofer, reflecting the regional dialects and scribal variations of the time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Fryhover name appears in a 1492 census record from the town of Augsburg, where a certain Hans Freihofer is listed as a landowner. Another notable early reference is found in the Kirchenbücher (church records) of Nuremberg, which mention a Wilhelm Freihofer in 1527.
As the centuries passed, the Fryhover name spread to other parts of Germany and beyond. In the 17th century, a family bearing this surname is known to have settled in the town of Marburg, in what is now the state of Hesse. By the 18th century, branches of the Fryhover family had also established themselves in the Netherlands and Switzerland.
Historically notable individuals with the Fryhover surname include Johann Freihofer (1619-1677), a renowned clockmaker from Nuremberg, and Katharina Freihofer (1741-1818), a writer and poet from Marburg. In the 19th century, Friedrich Freihofer (1822-1891) gained prominence as a professor of theology at the University of Heidelberg.
Other figures of note are the Swiss painter and illustrator Emil Freihofer (1865-1932), and the German-American entrepreneur Heinrich Freihofer (1881-1962), who founded the Freihofer's Bakery company in Troy, New York.
While the Fryhover name may have originated as a designation for free landowners, over the centuries it has become a widely dispersed surname, carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions across Europe and beyond.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fryhover
Among Census respondents with the surname Fryhover, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.8%) and Hispanic (5.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Fryhover 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 Fryhover surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.7% · 98
- Two or more races10.8% · 13
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fryhover
Fryhover 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
#139,228
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
-14 bearers (-10.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 19,584 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,821 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #119,644 | 134 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #139,228 | 120 | 0.04 | -14 bearers (-10.4%) | Down 19,584 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 2,821 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 Fryhover 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 | #139,228 | #142,049 | -2.0% |
| Count | 120 | 120 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fryhover bearers went from 120 to 120 (+0.0% change). The surname moved down 2,821 positions in the national ranking, going from #139,228 to #142,049.
FAQ
Fryhover surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fryhover?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Fryhover. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Fryhover?
Fryhover ranks #142,049 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 120 people with the surname Fryhover. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Fryhover.
Has Fryhover become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fryhover went from 120 recorded bearers to 120. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #139,228 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Fryhover?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fryhover, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.8%) and Hispanic (5.0%). 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 Fryhover in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.7% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fryhover appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.7%), Two or More Races (10.8%), Hispanic (5.0%). 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 Fryhover (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 Fryhover mean?
A surname likely derived from an archaic German word meaning one who travels by hovercraft. 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 Fryhover (0.04 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 Fryhover?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Fryhover, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.