Explore the Family Name Fossey

The meaning of Fossey

English: habitational name from Fotsey, a lost place in Aspley Guise, Bedfordshire, recorded in 969 as Foteseige and in 1247 as Foteseye, perhaps from an Old English personal name Fōt + ēg ‘island, dry land in marsh’.

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

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

According to the data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Fossey showed a slight decline between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked as the 62,577th most popular surname, but by 2010, it had slipped to the 69,579th position—a decrease of 11.19%. The number of people with this last name also saw a modest drop from 299 in 2000 to 282 in 2010, representing a 5.69% decrease. The proportion of individuals with the Fossey surname per 100,000 people also dipped by 9.09%.

20002010Change
Rank#62,577#69,579-11.19%
Count299282-5.69%
Proportion per 100k0.110.1-9.09%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Fossey

The Decennial U.S. Census data reveals that the majority of individuals bearing the Fossey surname identify their ethnicity as White. A substantial increase was noticed from 96.99% in 2000 to 98.23% in 2010. There were no recorded changes in other ethnic identities such as Asian/Pacific Islander, Two or more races, Hispanic, Black, and American Indian and Alaskan Native. However, there's an insignificant presence of the Black ethnicity within the Fossey surname bearers in 2010, where the change was not recorded since the previous census. Please note that when "(S)" is present in the data, it means the information was suppressed to maintain privacy.

20002010Change
White96.99%98.23%1.28%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%0%0%
Two or More Races0%0%0%
Hispanic0%0%0%
Black0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%