Explore the Family Name Faw

The meaning of Faw

Americanized form of South German Pfau or the variant Pfoh, a nickname for someone thought to resemble a peacock in some way, or a topographic or habitational name referring to a house or tavern distinguished by the sign of a peacock.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Faw saw some fluctuations between 2000 and 2010. In the year 2000, the name ranked 20,006 in popularity but fell to 20,792 by 2010, a decrease of around 3.93%. Despite this drop in ranking, the actual number of people with the Faw surname increased from 1,241 in 2000 to 1,270 in 2010, showing an overall growth rate of 2.34%. However, when considering the proportion per 100k people, there was a slight decline from 0.46 to 0.43, marking a 6.52% decrease.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#20,006	#20,792	-3.93%
Count	1,241	1,270	2.34%
Proportion per 100k	0.46	0.43	-6.52%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Faw

In terms of ethnicity as per the Decennial U.S. Census, people with the surname Faw showed varied ethnic identities. In 2000, a significant majority of 91.78% identified as White, which slightly dipped to 90.24% in 2010. The Black ethnicity showed a rise from 3.46% in 2000 to 3.94% in 2010, indicating a growth of 13.87%. The Asian/Pacific Islander category saw a decrease from 2.66% to 2.36%. Those identifying with two or more races went up from 1.21% to 1.42%, a growth of 17.36%. Interestingly, there were no Hispanics or American Indian and Alaskan Natives recorded in 2000, but by 2010, these categories reported 1.50% and 0.55% respectively.

	2000	2010	Change
White	91.78%	90.24%	-1.68%
Black	3.46%	3.94%	13.87%
Asian/Pacific Islander	2.66%	2.36%	-11.28%
Hispanic	0%	1.5%	0%
Two or More Races	1.21%	1.42%	17.36%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0.55%	0%