2000
#4,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,903
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.93
Rare Last name
Frasier
A Scottish occupational surname referring to a strawberry grower or someone who lived near strawberry patches.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,665 Americans carry the last name Frasier. That puts it at #4,556 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.53 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 39,556 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Frasier 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
8.7K
1 in 39,556
Census rank
#4,556
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,556 bearers of the surname Frasier in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.53 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4556th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Frasier, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.9%. The next largest groups are Black (27.7%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Frasier
The surname Frasier is of Norman-French origin, derived from the Old French word "fraisier" meaning "strawberry plant". It is believed to have originated as a descriptive surname referring to someone who lived near or cultivated strawberry plants.
The name first appeared in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066, when many French settlers and nobles established themselves in the country. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of land ownership and taxation commissioned by William the Conqueror.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was William Frasier, a Norman knight who fought alongside William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. He was awarded lands in Oxfordshire for his service.
In the 12th century, the name was also found in Scotland, where it was likely introduced by Norman settlers. The earliest recorded instance in Scotland was in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which documented those who pledged allegiance to King Edward I of England.
Over time, the name underwent various spelling variations, such as Frasier, Fraser, Frazier, and Fraisier. These variations were often due to regional dialects and the inconsistent spelling practices of the time.
Notable bearers of the surname Frasier throughout history include:
1. Simon Fraser (1776-1862), a Canadian explorer and fur trader who charted much of present-day British Columbia.
2. James Frasier (1823-1909), an American Civil War general who fought for the Union Army.
3. Ebenezer Frazier (1794-1872), an American politician and lawyer who served as a U.S. Representative from Ohio.
4. Nathaniel Frasier (1742-1825), an American Revolutionary War soldier and early settler of Tennessee.
5. Alexander Fraser (1537-1623), a Scottish writer and philosopher who served as the tutor to King James VI of Scotland.
The name Frasier has also been associated with various place names, such as Fraser River in British Columbia, Canada, and Frasier Island in Queensland, Australia, which were named after early explorers or settlers bearing the surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Frasier
Among Census respondents with the surname Frasier, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.9%. The next largest groups are Black (27.7%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Frasier 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 Frasier surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.9% · 4,825
- Black or African American27.7% · 2,096
- Two or more races3.9% · 297
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 255
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 43
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 40
Timeline
Historical Census data for Frasier
Frasier 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
#4,376
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,124
+221 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 2.75
Rank movement Down 227 places
2020
#4,556
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,556
-568 bearers (-7.0%)
Per 100,000 2.53
Rank movement Down 180 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,149 | 7,903 | 2.93 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,376 | 8,124 | 2.75 | +221 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 227 places |
| 2020 | #4,556 | 7,556 | 2.53 | -568 bearers (-7.0%) | Down 180 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 Frasier 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 | #4,376 | #4,556 | -4.1% |
| Count | 8,124 | 7,556 | -7.0% |
| Per 100K | 2.75 | 2.53 | -8.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Frasier bearers went from 8,124 to 7,556 (-7.0% change). The surname moved down 180 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,376 to #4,556.
FAQ
Frasier surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Frasier?
Name Census estimates that about 8,665 living Americans carry the surname Frasier. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 39,556 residents.
How common is Frasier?
Frasier ranks #4,556 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.53 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 7,556 people with the surname Frasier. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,665), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.53 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.53 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 Frasier.
Has Frasier become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Frasier went from 8,124 recorded bearers to 7,556. That is a decrease of 568 (-7.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,376 to #4,556.
What does the Census say about the background of Frasier?
Among Census respondents with the surname Frasier, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.9%. The next largest groups are Black (27.7%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Frasier in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.9% (4,825 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Frasier appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (63.9%), Black (27.7%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Frasier (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 Frasier mean?
A Scottish occupational surname referring to a strawberry grower or someone who lived near strawberry patches. 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 Frasier (2.53 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 Americans have the surname Frasier?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.