Explore the Family Name Figures

The meaning of Figures

1. Altered form of English Vigures, itself an extinct variant of Vigus. 2. English: probably a variant of Figgis, a nickname from fikeis, a Norman French form of Old French ficheis ‘faithful’. History: Bartholomew Figures/Vigures came from England to Surry County, VA, before 1677.

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

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

According to the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname "Figures" experienced a slight increase between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked 33,830 in terms of popularity, but improved its ranking to 33,164 by 2010, indicating a rise of 1.97%. Additionally, the count of people bearing this surname rose from 635 in 2000 to 690 in 2010, reflecting an increase of 8.66%. However, the proportion of people with this surname per 100,000 decreased slightly by 4.17%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#33,830	#33,164	1.97%
Count	635	690	8.66%
Proportion per 100k	0.24	0.23	-4.17%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Figures

The Decennial U.S. Census data also reveals interesting shifts in the ethnic identity associated with the surname "Figures." While a majority remained Black (from 82.68% in 2000 to 80.87% in 2010), there was a noticeable increase in the percentage of individuals identifying as Hispanic (from 3.46% to 5.80%) and those reporting two or more races (from 2.99% to 4.20%). The percentage of White individuals bearing this surname experienced a decline from 10.55% in 2000 to 9.13% in 2010. There were no recorded individuals under the categories of Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native for both years.

	2000	2010	Change
Black	82.68%	80.87%	-2.19%
White	10.55%	9.13%	-13.46%
Hispanic	3.46%	5.8%	67.63%
Two or More Races	2.99%	4.2%	40.47%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%