2000
#141,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Fuehne
Of German origin, a habitational name for someone from a place called Föhne or Föhren.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Fuehne. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fuehne 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Fuehne in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fuehne, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fuehne
The surname FUEHNE is believed to have originated in Germany, likely during the Middle Ages. It is thought to be derived from the Old German word "fuhr," meaning "ford" or "passage," combined with the suffix "-en," indicating a place of origin. This suggests that the name might have referred to someone who lived near a ford or crossing point.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony dating back to the 12th century. In this text, there is a reference to a person named "Conradus de Fuhrne" from the year 1187.
Another historical reference to the name comes from the Hanseatic League, a powerful commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe from the 13th to the 17th century. Records show that a merchant named Hans Fuehne was active in the city of Lübeck during the 15th century.
In the 16th century, there is mention of a scholar and theologian named Johann Fuehne (1512-1582), who was born in the German town of Wittenberg. He is known for his work in promoting the teachings of Martin Luther and the Reformation.
Moving into the 17th century, a notable figure with the surname FUEHNE was Johann Christoph Fuehne (1631-1698), a German composer and organist who worked in the court of the Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
Another person of note was Otto Fuehne (1822-1891), a German botanist and professor at the University of Leipzig. He made significant contributions to the study of plant taxonomy and authored several influential works on the subject.
Throughout its history, the surname FUEHNE has also been associated with various place names and locations, particularly in Germany and surrounding regions. For example, there are villages and towns such as Fühnenhausen, Fühnried, and Fühnkotten, which may have derived their names from individuals or families bearing the FUEHNE surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fuehne
Among Census respondents with the surname Fuehne, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Fuehne 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 Fuehne surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.1% · 116
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fuehne
Fuehne 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
#141,140
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+10 bearers (+9.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 648 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
-1 bearers (-0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,130 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #141,788 | 108 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #141,140 | 118 | 0.04 | +10 bearers (+9.3%) | Up 648 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.8%) | Down 3,130 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 Fuehne 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 | #141,140 | #144,270 | -2.2% |
| Count | 118 | 117 | -0.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fuehne bearers went from 118 to 117 (-0.8% change). The surname moved down 3,130 positions in the national ranking, going from #141,140 to #144,270.
FAQ
Fuehne surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fuehne?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Fuehne. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Fuehne?
Fuehne ranks #144,270 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 117 people with the surname Fuehne. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), 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 Fuehne.
Has Fuehne become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fuehne went from 118 recorded bearers to 117. That is a decrease of 1 (-0.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #141,140 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Fuehne?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fuehne, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Fuehne in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.1% (116 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fuehne appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.1%), Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Fuehne (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 Fuehne mean?
Of German origin, a habitational name for someone from a place called Föhne or Föhren. 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 Fuehne (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 are called Fuehne?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Fuehne, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.