2000
#9,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,095
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.15
Rare Last name
Furlow
An English occupational surname for a person who prepares or deals in furlough, a type of wool.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,652 Americans carry the last name Furlow. That puts it at #9,724 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 93,854 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Furlow 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
3.7K
1 in 93,854
Census rank
#9,724
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,185 bearers of the surname Furlow in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9724th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Furlow, the largest self-reported group is White at 47.9%. The next largest groups are Black (42.2%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Furlow
The surname Furlow originated in England, likely during the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. It is believed to be a locational surname derived from a place name, possibly a town or village. One theory suggests that the name may have originated from a now-lost or obscure place name containing the Old English elements "furh" or "furlang," meaning a furrow or a furlong, which was a unit of measurement used in agriculture.
Some of the earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found in historical records from the 16th and 17th centuries. For example, the Furlow surname appears in the parish registers of Oxfordshire, England, in the late 1500s. Additionally, there are records of a William Furlow, born in 1612, in the parish of St. Giles, Cripplegate, London.
The Furlow surname has been associated with notable individuals throughout history. One such figure was John Furlow, an English clergyman who lived in the late 17th century and served as the rector of Sutton Valence in Kent. Another notable Furlow was William Furlow, a merchant and landowner who lived in Virginia, USA, in the late 18th century.
In the United States, the Furlow surname can be traced back to the colonial era. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was Robert Furlow, who arrived in Virginia in 1635. Another early Furlow settler was Thomas Furlow, who came to Maryland in 1674.
The Furlow surname has also been found in various historical records, such as the Hearth Tax Rolls of Oxfordshire in the late 17th century and the Poll Tax records of Yorkshire in the 18th century. Some variations in the spelling of the surname, such as Furlo, Furlaw, and Furleigh, have been documented in these records.
Other notable individuals with the Furlow surname include John Furlow, a British soldier who served in the American Revolutionary War, and George Furlow, an American politician who served as a member of the Alabama House of Representatives in the mid-19th century. Additionally, James Furlow, an American artist and painter, gained recognition for his landscape paintings in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Furlow
Among Census respondents with the surname Furlow, the largest self-reported group is White at 47.9%. The next largest groups are Black (42.2%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Furlow 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 Furlow surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White47.9% · 1,527
- Black or African American42.2% · 1,344
- Two or more races5.1% · 163
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 114
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Furlow
Furlow 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
#9,966
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,237
+142 bearers (+4.6%)
Per 100,000 1.10
Rank movement Down 327 places
2020
#9,724
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,185
-52 bearers (-1.6%)
Per 100,000 1.07
Rank movement Up 242 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,639 | 3,095 | 1.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,966 | 3,237 | 1.10 | +142 bearers (+4.6%) | Down 327 places |
| 2020 | #9,724 | 3,185 | 1.07 | -52 bearers (-1.6%) | Up 242 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 Furlow 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 | #9,966 | #9,724 | 2.4% |
| Count | 3,237 | 3,185 | -1.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.10 | 1.07 | -3.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Furlow bearers went from 3,237 to 3,185 (-1.6% change). The surname moved up 242 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,966 to #9,724.
FAQ
Furlow surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Furlow?
Name Census estimates that about 3,652 living Americans carry the surname Furlow. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 93,854 residents.
How common is Furlow?
Furlow ranks #9,724 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.07 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 3,185 people with the surname Furlow. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,652), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.07 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 Furlow.
Has Furlow become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Furlow went from 3,237 recorded bearers to 3,185. That is a decrease of 52 (-1.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,966 to #9,724.
What does the Census say about the background of Furlow?
Among Census respondents with the surname Furlow, the largest self-reported group is White at 47.9%. The next largest groups are Black (42.2%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Furlow in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.9% (1,527 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Furlow appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (47.9%), Black (42.2%), Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Furlow (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 Furlow mean?
An English occupational surname for a person who prepares or deals in furlough, a type of wool. 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 Furlow (1.07 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 Furlow?
See how many Americans have the surname Furlow on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.