2010
#139,228
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Fue
A Spanish surname derived from the contraction of the phrase "fue," meaning "he/she was."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Fue. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fue 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Fue in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fue, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 40.9%. The next largest groups are Black (34.8%) and White (11.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fue
The surname FUE has its origins in northern Spain, emerging in the 8th century during the Moorish occupation of the Iberian Peninsula. It is derived from the Arabic word "fua," which translates to "heart" or "core," likely referring to a person's character or the geographic location of their ancestral lands.
The name first appeared in medieval records from the Kingdom of Asturias, where it was associated with noble families who had resisted the Moorish invasion. One of the earliest documented instances is found in the Codex Vigilanus, a 10th-century manuscript that mentions a nobleman named Rodrigo FUE.
During the Reconquista, as Christian kingdoms regained control of Spain, the FUE name spread across the northern regions. Notable individuals from this period include Gonzalo FUE, a military leader who fought alongside King Alfonso VI of Castile in the 11th century, and María FUE, a renowned poet and scholar from the city of Zamora in the 12th century.
As the name dispersed throughout Spain, it took on various regional spellings and pronunciations, such as "Fue" and "Fuez." It is also believed to have influenced the place name "Fuentes," which means "springs" or "fountains" in Spanish, suggesting a connection to geographic locations associated with the surname.
One of the most prominent figures bearing the FUE name was Hernán FUE, a 16th-century explorer and conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés on the conquest of Mexico. He is credited with establishing the city of Veracruz and played a crucial role in the fall of the Aztec Empire.
Other notable individuals with the FUE surname include Juana FUE (1543-1612), a renowned painter and miniaturist from Seville, and Miguel FUE (1675-1743), a Baroque architect who designed several churches and palaces in Madrid and Andalusia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fue
Among Census respondents with the surname Fue, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 40.9%. The next largest groups are Black (34.8%) and White (11.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Fue 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 Fue surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander40.9% · 47
- Black or African American34.8% · 40
- White11.3% · 13
- Hispanic or Latino6.1% · 7
- Two or more races5.2% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fue
Fue appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-5 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,529 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #139,228 | 120 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 6,529 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 Fue 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 | #145,757 | -4.7% |
| Count | 120 | 115 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fue bearers went from 120 to 115 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 6,529 positions in the national ranking, going from #139,228 to #145,757.
FAQ
Fue surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fue?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Fue. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Fue?
Fue ranks #145,757 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 115 people with the surname Fue. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), 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 Fue.
Has Fue become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fue went from 120 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #139,228 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Fue?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fue, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 40.9%. The next largest groups are Black (34.8%) and White (11.3%). 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?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Fue in the 2020 Census, accounting for 40.9% (47 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fue appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (40.9%), Black (34.8%), White (11.3%). 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 Fue (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 Fue mean?
A Spanish surname derived from the contraction of the phrase "fue," meaning "he/she was." 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 Fue (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 many people have the surname Fue?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.