2000
#21,039
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,164
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.43
Rare Last name
Foulke
Of English origin, referring to someone with a dark or gloomy complexion.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,279 Americans carry the last name Foulke. That puts it at #23,499 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.37 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 267,986 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Foulke 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
1.3K
1 in 267,986
Census rank
#23,499
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,115 bearers of the surname Foulke in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.37 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 23499th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Foulke, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.7%) and Black (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Foulke
The surname FOULKE is of Anglo-Norman French origin, derived from the personal name Fulk, itself a Germanic name composed of the elements "folk" meaning people and "ric" meaning power or rule.
The name FOULKE is believed to have been introduced to England after the Norman Conquest of 1066, when many Norman nobles and knights settled in various parts of the country. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions individuals with variations of the name such as Fulco and Fulcous.
In the Middle Ages, the FOULKE surname was particularly prevalent in the counties of Shropshire, Staffordshire, and Derbyshire, where several families bearing the name held land and property. The name was also found in other parts of England, including Yorkshire and Norfolk.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the FOULKE surname is Sir Fulk FitzWarin, a 12th-century Norman knight who played a significant role in the conflicts between King John and the barons. Another notable figure was Fulk de Breaute, a 13th-century military commander and advisor to King John.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the FOULKE surname continued to be prominent in various parts of England. John Foulke (c. 1520-1584) was a Welsh landowner and Member of Parliament for Denbighshire. Thomas Foulke (1563-1634) was an English soldier and colonist who was among the first settlers of the Virginia Colony in North America.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, individuals with the FOULKE surname made contributions in various fields. Benjamin Foulke (1742-1808) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a delegate to the Continental Congress. Robert Foulke (1763-1848) was a British naval officer and explorer who surveyed parts of the Pacific Ocean.
Another notable bearer of the FOULKE surname was William Parker Foulke (1816-1865), an American artist known for his landscape paintings. In the field of science, Martin Foulke (1833-1909) was an American physicist and educator who made significant contributions to the study of electricity and magnetism.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Foulke
Among Census respondents with the surname Foulke, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.7%) and Black (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Foulke 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 Foulke surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.9% · 958
- Two or more races5.7% · 64
- Black or African American3.5% · 39
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 31
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Foulke
Foulke 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
#22,301
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,156
-8 bearers (-0.7%)
Per 100,000 0.39
Rank movement Down 1,262 places
2020
#23,499
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,115
-41 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.37
Rank movement Down 1,198 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #21,039 | 1,164 | 0.43 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #22,301 | 1,156 | 0.39 | -8 bearers (-0.7%) | Down 1,262 places |
| 2020 | #23,499 | 1,115 | 0.37 | -41 bearers (-3.5%) | Down 1,198 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 Foulke 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 | #22,301 | #23,499 | -5.4% |
| Count | 1,156 | 1,115 | -3.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.39 | 0.37 | -4.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Foulke bearers went from 1,156 to 1,115 (-3.5% change). The surname moved down 1,198 positions in the national ranking, going from #22,301 to #23,499.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Foulke
FAQ
Foulke surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Foulke?
Name Census estimates that about 1,279 living Americans carry the surname Foulke. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 267,986 residents.
How common is Foulke?
Foulke ranks #23,499 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.37 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 1,115 people with the surname Foulke. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,279), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.37 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.37 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 Foulke.
Has Foulke become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Foulke went from 1,156 recorded bearers to 1,115. That is a decrease of 41 (-3.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #22,301 to #23,499.
What does the Census say about the background of Foulke?
Among Census respondents with the surname Foulke, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.7%) and Black (3.5%). 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 Foulke in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.9% (958 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Foulke appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.9%), Two or More Races (5.7%), Black (3.5%). 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 Foulke (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 Foulke mean?
Of English origin, referring to someone with a dark or gloomy complexion. 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 Foulke (0.37 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 Foulke?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.