Explore the Family Name Fairfax
The meaning of Fairfax
English: nickname for someone with beautiful long hair, from Middle English fair fax ‘beautiful tresses’. This was a common descriptive phrase in Middle English: the alliterative poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight refers to ‘fair fanning fax’ encircling the shoulders of the doughty warrior. History: Thomas Fairfax (1693–1781), an army officer from Leeds Castle, Kent, England, first came to VA in 1735 and settled on maternal estates there as a proprietor in 1747.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Fairfax in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Fairfax has seen slight changes between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Fairfax ranked as the 17,970th most common surname in the U.S., but by 2010, it had fallen to the 18,622nd spot, marking a decrease of 3.63%. However, the actual count of people with the Fairfax surname increased from 1,433 in 2000 to 1,478 in 2010, a growth of 3.14%. The proportion of individuals with the Fairfax surname per 100,000 people also decreased slightly from 0.53 to 0.5 during this decade.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #17,970 | #18,622 | -3.63% |
| Count | 1,433 | 1,478 | 3.14% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.53 | 0.5 | -5.66% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Fairfax
In terms of ethnicity, data derived from the Decennial U.S. Census reveals that there was a shift in the ethnic identity associated with the Fairfax surname between 2000 and 2010. While the percentage of White and Black individuals with the surname decreased by 1.49% and 2.26%, respectively, the percentage of those identifying as Two or More Races and Hispanic saw increases of 38.12% and 37.96%, respectively. No change was observed in the Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native categories over this period.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 52.2% | 51.42% | -1.49% |
| Black | 43.27% | 42.29% | -2.26% |
| Hispanic | 2.16% | 2.98% | 37.96% |
| Two or More Races | 1.81% | 2.5% | 38.12% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0% | 0% | 0% |