2000
#14,482
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,889
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.70
Rare Last name
Fullwood
An English locational surname referring to someone who lived near a dense forest or wooded area.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,293 Americans carry the last name Fullwood. That puts it at #14,395 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 149,479 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fullwood 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 Fullwood with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.3K
1 in 149,479
Census rank
#14,395
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,000 bearers of the surname Fullwood in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14395th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fullwood, the largest self-reported group is Black at 57.0%. The next largest groups are White (32.2%) and Two or More Races (7.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fullwood
The surname Fullwood has its origins in England, tracing back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from a combination of the Old English words "full" and "wudu," meaning "full" and "wood," respectively. This likely referred to someone who lived in a dense or full wood or forest.
The earliest recorded instances of the Fullwood surname can be found in historical documents dating back to the 13th century. One notable reference is in the Hundredorum Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1273, which mentions a Robert de Fulwode. This suggests that the name was well-established in certain regions of England by that time.
The Fullwood name appears in several medieval manuscripts and records, indicating its presence in various parts of the country. For instance, the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1301 list a John de Fulwode, while the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327 mention a William Fulwode.
Over the centuries, the name has seen various spellings, such as Fulwode, Fullwode, and Fulwood, reflecting the evolution of language and regional variations. Some of these older spellings were likely influenced by the names of places where families bearing the surname resided, such as the village of Fulwood in Lancashire or Fullwood in Yorkshire.
Notable individuals who bore the Fullwood surname include John Fullwood (c. 1555-1612), an English playwright and poet during the Elizabethan era. Another prominent figure was Sir Francis Fullwood (1604-1693), an English lawyer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament and Chief Justice of North Wales.
In the 18th century, Reverend Samuel Fullwood (1718-1794) was an English clergyman and author, known for his work "The Soul's Portraiture Drawn in Christ's Excellent Sermon on the Mount" published in 1765. William Fullwood (1792-1871), on the other hand, was a prominent English architect responsible for designing several notable buildings in Liverpool and Manchester during the Victorian era.
Another notable figure was Edmund Fullwood (1809-1883), a British army officer who served in the Crimean War and was awarded the Crimea Medal for his service. His contemporaries included Henry Fullwood (1810-1891), an English landscape painter who exhibited his works at the Royal Academy and other prestigious institutions of the time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fullwood
Among Census respondents with the surname Fullwood, the largest self-reported group is Black at 57.0%. The next largest groups are White (32.2%) and Two or More Races (7.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Fullwood 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 Fullwood surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American57.0% · 1,141
- White32.2% · 644
- Two or more races7.1% · 142
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 66
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fullwood
Fullwood 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
#14,724
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,018
+129 bearers (+6.8%)
Per 100,000 0.68
Rank movement Down 242 places
2020
#14,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,000
-18 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Up 329 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,482 | 1,889 | 0.70 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,724 | 2,018 | 0.68 | +129 bearers (+6.8%) | Down 242 places |
| 2020 | #14,395 | 2,000 | 0.67 | -18 bearers (-0.9%) | Up 329 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 Fullwood 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 | #14,724 | #14,395 | 2.2% |
| Count | 2,018 | 2,000 | -0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.68 | 0.67 | -1.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fullwood bearers went from 2,018 to 2,000 (-0.9% change). The surname moved up 329 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,724 to #14,395.
FAQ
Fullwood surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fullwood?
Name Census estimates that about 2,293 living Americans carry the surname Fullwood. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 149,479 residents.
How common is Fullwood?
Fullwood ranks #14,395 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.67 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 2,000 people with the surname Fullwood. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,293), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.67 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 Fullwood.
Has Fullwood become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fullwood went from 2,018 recorded bearers to 2,000. That is a decrease of 18 (-0.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,724 to #14,395.
What does the Census say about the background of Fullwood?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fullwood, the largest self-reported group is Black at 57.0%. The next largest groups are White (32.2%) and Two or More Races (7.1%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Fullwood in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.0% (1,141 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fullwood appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (57.0%), White (32.2%), Two or More Races (7.1%). 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 Fullwood (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 Fullwood mean?
An English locational surname referring to someone who lived near a dense forest or wooded area. 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 Fullwood (0.67 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 Fullwood?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.