2000
#1,017
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 31,513
First available Census row
Per 100,000 11.68
Uncommon Last name
Fulton
Derived from a place name meaning "muddy settlement" or "town by a muddy creek" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 35,288 Americans carry the last name Fulton. That puts it at #1,118 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 10.30 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 9,713 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fulton 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 Fulton with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
35K
1 in 9,713
Census rank
#1,118
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
10.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
31K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 30,773 bearers of the surname Fulton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 10.30 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1118th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fulton, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.6%. The next largest groups are Black (21.9%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fulton
The surname Fulton originates from England and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English words "ful" meaning "muddy" or "foul" and "tun" meaning "town" or "settlement". This suggests the name refers to a person who lived in a muddy or unpleasant town or village.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Fulton can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1166, where it appears as "Fulton". The Pipe Rolls were a record of financial accounts kept by the English Crown.
The Fulton surname is also found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which were census-like records of landowners in England at the time. In these rolls, the name is spelled as "Fultone".
There are several place names in England that likely contributed to the Fulton surname, such as Fulton in Yorkshire and Fulton in Staffordshire. These place names may have originally been spelled as "Fultun" or "Fultone".
One notable person with the surname Fulton was Robert Fulton (1765-1815), the American engineer and inventor who is credited with developing the first commercially successful steamboat. He was born in Pennsylvania to Irish immigrant parents.
Another famous Fulton was Robert Fulton Cutting (1852-1912), an American lawyer and financier who played a significant role in the development of New York City's subway system.
In the arts, Hamish Fulton (born 1946) is a Scottish artist known for his walking art and landscape photography.
Sir Robert Fulton (1855-1923) was a Scottish civil engineer who designed the Usher Bridge in Edinburgh and the Walney Bridge in Cumbria.
Mary Fulton (1854-1928) was a Scottish author and journalist who wrote extensively about her travels and observations of life in different parts of the world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fulton
Among Census respondents with the surname Fulton, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.6%. The next largest groups are Black (21.9%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Fulton 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 Fulton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.6% · 21,106
- Black or African American21.9% · 6,749
- Two or more races4.4% · 1,341
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 1,081
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 281
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 215
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fulton
Fulton 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
#1,083
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 32,258
+745 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 10.94
Rank movement Down 66 places
2020
#1,118
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 30,773
-1,485 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 10.30
Rank movement Down 35 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,017 | 31,513 | 11.68 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,083 | 32,258 | 10.94 | +745 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 66 places |
| 2020 | #1,118 | 30,773 | 10.30 | -1,485 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 35 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 Fulton 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 | #1,083 | #1,118 | -3.2% |
| Count | 32,258 | 30,773 | -4.6% |
| Per 100K | 10.94 | 10.30 | -5.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fulton bearers went from 32,258 to 30,773 (-4.6% change). The surname moved down 35 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,083 to #1,118.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Fulton
FAQ
Fulton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fulton?
Name Census estimates that about 35,288 living Americans carry the surname Fulton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 9,713 residents.
How common is Fulton?
Fulton ranks #1,118 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 10.30 per 100,000 residents, which is about 10 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 30,773 people with the surname Fulton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (35,288), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 10.3 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 10.30 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 10 of them to have the surname Fulton.
Has Fulton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fulton went from 32,258 recorded bearers to 30,773. That is a decrease of 1,485 (-4.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,083 to #1,118.
What does the Census say about the background of Fulton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fulton, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.6%. The next largest groups are Black (21.9%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Fulton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.6% (21,106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fulton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (68.6%), Black (21.9%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Fulton (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 Fulton mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "muddy settlement" or "town by a muddy creek" in Old English. 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 Fulton (10.30 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 Fulton?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.