2000
#4,087
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,021
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.97
Rare Last name
Furr
An occupational surname referring to a trader or dealer in animal furs.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,766 Americans carry the last name Furr. That puts it at #4,516 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.56 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 39,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Furr 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 Furr with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.8K
1 in 39,100
Census rank
#4,516
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,644 bearers of the surname Furr in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.56 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4516th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Furr, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.2%. The next largest groups are Black (8.4%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Furr
The surname "FURR" is of German origin, derived from the Old High German word "forhа," which means "fir tree." The name is believed to have originated in the 12th century, referring to someone who lived near a fir forest or worked with fir trees.
In the 13th century, the surname was recorded as "Vurre" in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of historical documents from the region of Westphalia, Germany. The earliest known bearer of the name was Heinrich Vurre, a landowner mentioned in a document dated 1287.
The name "FURR" can also be traced back to various place names in Germany, such as Furrbach and Furrweiler, which likely influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time. In the 16th century, the name appeared as "Furr" in the parish records of the town of Marburg, in the state of Hesse.
One notable bearer of the surname was Johannes Furr, a German theologian and reformer born in 1495 in Wittenberg. He was a close associate of Martin Luther and played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation.
In England, the name "FURR" is recorded as early as the 16th century, likely introduced by German immigrants. One of the earliest documented examples is William Furr, a merchant from London, who was mentioned in the Court of Chancery records in 1568.
Another prominent figure was Sir John Furr (1609-1673), an English politician and member of Parliament for Derbyshire. He was known for his support of the Parliamentarian cause during the English Civil War.
In the United States, the name "FURR" can be traced back to the 18th century. One of the earliest recorded individuals was Johann Furr, a German immigrant who settled in Pennsylvania in 1754.
William Furr (1788-1853) was an American farmer and politician from Virginia, who served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates in the early 19th century.
Another notable bearer of the name was Benjamin Furr (1834-1909), a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War, who received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Fredericksburg in 1862.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Furr
Among Census respondents with the surname Furr, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.2%. The next largest groups are Black (8.4%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Furr 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 Furr surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.2% · 6,435
- Black or African American8.4% · 639
- Two or more races3.3% · 255
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 238
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 40
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 37
Timeline
Historical Census data for Furr
Furr 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
#4,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,260
+239 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 2.80
Rank movement Down 217 places
2020
#4,516
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,644
-616 bearers (-7.5%)
Per 100,000 2.56
Rank movement Down 212 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,087 | 8,021 | 2.97 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,304 | 8,260 | 2.80 | +239 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 217 places |
| 2020 | #4,516 | 7,644 | 2.56 | -616 bearers (-7.5%) | Down 212 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 Furr 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 | #4,304 | #4,516 | -4.9% |
| Count | 8,260 | 7,644 | -7.5% |
| Per 100K | 2.80 | 2.56 | -8.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Furr bearers went from 8,260 to 7,644 (-7.5% change). The surname moved down 212 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,304 to #4,516.
FAQ
Furr surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Furr?
Name Census estimates that about 8,766 living Americans carry the surname Furr. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 39,100 residents.
How common is Furr?
Furr ranks #4,516 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.56 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,644 people with the surname Furr. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,766), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.56 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.56 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Furr.
Has Furr become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Furr went from 8,260 recorded bearers to 7,644. That is a decrease of 616 (-7.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,304 to #4,516.
What does the Census say about the background of Furr?
Among Census respondents with the surname Furr, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.2%. The next largest groups are Black (8.4%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Furr in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.2% (6,435 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Furr appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.2%), Black (8.4%), Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Furr (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 Furr mean?
An occupational surname referring to a trader or dealer in animal furs. 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 Furr (2.56 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 Furr?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Furr, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.