2000
#40,019
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 516
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.19
Very Rare Last name
Furse
An English surname derived from the Old English word "fyrs" meaning furze or gorse bushes.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 608 Americans carry the last name Furse. That puts it at #43,829 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.18 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 563,741 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Furse 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 Furse with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
608
1 in 563,741
Census rank
#43,829
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
530
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 530 bearers of the surname Furse in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.18 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 43829th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Furse, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.5%. The next largest groups are Black (17.5%) and Hispanic (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Furse
The surname Furse originated in England and is of medieval English origin. The name is derived from the Old English words "fyrst" or "furst," meaning a wooded hill or forest. This suggests that the earliest bearers of the name likely resided near or on a prominent wooded hill or in a forested area.
Furse is believed to have first emerged as a surname in the counties of Somerset, Devon, and Dorset in the southwest of England during the late 12th or early 13th century. Early variations of the spelling included Furst, Furshill, Forshill, and Forsehill, reflecting the regional dialects of the time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Feet of Fines for Somerset, dated 1268, which mentions a John Furst. The Subsidy Rolls for Somerset in 1327 also list a Walter Furs, indicating the name's presence in the region during the medieval period.
In the 16th century, the surname appears in the parish records of Taunton, Somerset, with the baptism of John Furse in 1546. Another early record is the marriage of Richard Furse and Johane Horte in the parish of Whitchurch Canonicorum, Dorset, in 1572.
Notable individuals bearing the surname Furse include Sir Henry Furse (1629-1712), a prominent English merchant and Member of Parliament for Plymouth in the late 17th century. John Furse (1788-1858) was an English painter and engraver known for his landscape and marine paintings.
Ralph Furse (1887-1973) was a British colonial administrator who served as Governor of British Somaliland from 1943 to 1949. His son, Sir Roger Furse (1920-2001), was a distinguished British diplomat and ambassador to several countries, including Japan and West Germany.
Another notable figure was Dame Katharine Furse (1875-1952), a pioneering British nurse and philanthropist who served as the first Director of the World's Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) from 1920 to 1935.
While the surname Furse is not among the most common in England, it has a rich history dating back to medieval times, with its origins deeply rooted in the English countryside and the early development of surnames.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Furse
Among Census respondents with the surname Furse, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.5%. The next largest groups are Black (17.5%) and Hispanic (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Furse 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 Furse surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.5% · 384
- Black or African American17.5% · 93
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 22
- Two or more races4.0% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Furse
Furse 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
#47,706
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 444
-72 bearers (-14.0%)
Per 100,000 0.15
Rank movement Down 7,687 places
2020
#43,829
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 530
+86 bearers (+19.4%)
Per 100,000 0.18
Rank movement Up 3,877 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #40,019 | 516 | 0.19 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #47,706 | 444 | 0.15 | -72 bearers (-14.0%) | Down 7,687 places |
| 2020 | #43,829 | 530 | 0.18 | +86 bearers (+19.4%) | Up 3,877 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 Furse 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 | #47,706 | #43,829 | 8.1% |
| Count | 444 | 530 | 19.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.15 | 0.18 | 18.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Furse bearers went from 444 to 530 (+19.4% change). The surname moved up 3,877 positions in the national ranking, going from #47,706 to #43,829.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Furse
FAQ
Furse surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Furse?
Name Census estimates that about 608 living Americans carry the surname Furse. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 563,741 residents.
How common is Furse?
Furse ranks #43,829 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.18 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 530 people with the surname Furse. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (608), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.18 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.18 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 Furse.
Has Furse become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Furse went from 444 recorded bearers to 530. That is an increase of 86 (+19.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #47,706 to #43,829.
What does the Census say about the background of Furse?
Among Census respondents with the surname Furse, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.5%. The next largest groups are Black (17.5%) and Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Furse in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.5% (384 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Furse appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.5%), Black (17.5%), Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Furse (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 Furse mean?
An English surname derived from the Old English word "fyrs" meaning furze or gorse bushes. 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 Furse (0.18 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 common is the surname Furse?
See how common the surname Furse is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.