Explore the Family Name Farnam

The meaning of Farnam

1. English: variant of Farnham. This surname is very rare in Britain. 2. Iranian: from the Persian personal name Farnām, which is interpreted as ‘majestic name’ or ‘magnificent name’ (from far ‘magnificence, glory’ and nām ‘name’).

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Farnam in the United States?

The surname Farnam has seen a slight decrease in popularity over the course of 10 years. According to the Decennial U.S. Census data, its rank fell from 25,398 in 2000 to 28,333 in 2010, showing a drop of approximately 11.56%. The frequency of this surname also decreased by around 7.87%, with the count going down from 915 to 843. Consequently, the proportion of individuals named Farnam per 100k people declined by 14.71% during this period.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#25,398	#28,333	-11.56%
Count	915	843	-7.87%
Proportion per 100k	0.34	0.29	-14.71%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Farnam

Looking at the ethnic identity of the individuals bearing the surname Farnam, based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, there have been some noticeable shifts over the decade. While the majority of individuals with this surname identified as White (94.42% in 2010, down from 96.07% in 2000), there was a substantial increase in those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander and individuals reporting two or more races. These groups increased by 84.42% and 54.55% respectively, although they still represent a small minority. The percentage of individuals identifying as Hispanic saw a slight uptick of 2.15%. Notably, there were no individuals with the Farnam surname who identified as Black or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either census year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	96.07%	94.42%	-1.72%
Hispanic	1.86%	1.9%	2.15%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.77%	1.42%	84.42%
Two or More Races	0.77%	1.19%	54.55%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%