Fernand
A French masculine given name derived from the Germanic name Ferdinand, meaning "brave traveler".
Name Census estimates that about 387 living Americans carry the first name Fernand. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Fernand today is around 69 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Fernand births was 1923 (73 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Fernand. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Fernand is about 69 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Fernands were born before 1967.
People living today
387
~ 1 in 885,670 Americans
Peak year
1923
73 babies that year
Average age
69
years old
2017 SSA rank
#10,040
Tracked since 1882
Census
Fernand in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 876 people with the first name Fernand, which placed it at #13,689 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#13,689
National first-name rank
People counted
876
876 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
55.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fernand
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fernand is White at 55.9%. The next largest groups are Black (22.4%) and Hispanic (14.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Fernand 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 name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Fernand at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White55.9% · 490
- Black or African American22.4% · 196
- Hispanic or Latino14.4% · 126
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.5% · 48
- Two or more races1.0% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 7
Popularity
Fernand: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Fernand from the 1880s through to the 2010s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 562 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Fernand by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Fernand during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Fernands live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire recorded the most babies named Fernand, while Connecticut, Vermont, Rhode Island recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 104 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Fernand
The name Fernand is a French masculine given name derived from the Germanic name Ferdinand, which is composed of the elements "frið" meaning peace, and "nanþ" meaning daring or brave. It originated during the Middle Ages, around the 9th century AD, and was initially popular among the Frankish nobility.
The earliest recorded use of the name Fernand can be traced back to the 11th century, when it appeared in various medieval French texts and records. One notable historical figure who bore this name was Fernand, Count of Flanders, who lived from around 1020 to 1070 AD and played a significant role in the political affairs of the region during his time.
As the name spread across Europe, it gained popularity in various countries and cultures, with slight variations in spelling and pronunciation. In Spain, for example, the name took the form of Fernando, while in Portugal it became Fernão.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Fernand. One of the most famous was Fernand Cortez (1485-1547), the Spanish conquistador who led the expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire in present-day Mexico. Another prominent individual was Fernand Braudel (1902-1985), a renowned French historian and a leader of the Annales School of historical writing.
In the realm of arts and literature, the name Fernand is associated with figures such as Fernand Léger (1881-1955), a French painter, sculptor, and filmmaker, and Fernand Gregh (1873-1960), a French poet and playwright. The name has also been carried by various political and military leaders, including Fernand Geyelin (1890-1964), a Belgian military officer and statesman, and Fernand Bouisson (1874-1959), a French politician and Prime Minister of France in 1935.
While these are just a few examples, the name Fernand has a rich history spanning centuries and has been borne by individuals from diverse backgrounds and fields, reflecting its enduring popularity and cultural significance.
People
Fernand + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Fernand as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Fernand: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Fernand?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 387 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Fernand going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 885,670 US residents.
Is Fernand a common name?
We classify Fernand as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,493 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Fernand most popular?
The single biggest year for Fernand was 1923, when 73 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Fernand is about 69 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Fernand in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 876 people with the name Fernand, or 0.29 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,689 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Fernand in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Fernand?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Fernand leans strongly male. 849 people counted with this name were male (97.3%), compared with 24 female bearers (2.7%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Fernand?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fernand is White at 55.9%. The next largest groups are Black (22.4%) and Hispanic (14.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Fernand most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Fernand in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.9% (490 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Fernand in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Fernand a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Fernand in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Fernand still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Fernand in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Fernand can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Fernand?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.