Explore the Family Name Freeborn

The meaning of Freeborn

English and Scottish: from the Middle English personal name Frebern (Old English Frēobeorn). Or possibly also from Middle English fre-boren, freborn ‘free-born’ (Old English frēo + boren), for ‘one born free, inheriting liberty, descended from freemen’, though the bulk of the evidence strongly suggests that the personal name is the usual source of the surname. Compare Freedman.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Freeborn rose from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it ranked 17,719 in terms of popularity and grew to a rank of 17,447 in 2010, marking a modest change of 1.54%. The count of individuals carrying this surname also increased from 1,458 in 2000 to 1,616 in 2010, an uptick of 10.84%. In terms of proportion per 100k people, the rise was minimal at 1.85%, from 0.54 in 2000 to 0.55 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#17,719	#17,447	1.54%
Count	1,458	1,616	10.84%
Proportion per 100k	0.54	0.55	1.85%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Freeborn

Regarding the ethnicity associated with the surname Freeborn, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows fluctuations between 2000 and 2010. In both years, the majority of Freeborns identified as White, though the percentage decreased slightly from 96.16% in 2000 to 92.45% in 2010. There were notable increases in those identifying as Hispanic (a 68.21% increase), Black (an 88.41% increase), and those claiming two or more races (a 95.38% increase). Additionally, there was a new appearance of Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native identities among the Freeborns in 2010, not seen in the 2000 census data.

	2000	2010	Change
White	96.16%	92.45%	-3.86%
Two or More Races	1.3%	2.54%	95.38%
Hispanic	1.51%	2.54%	68.21%
Black	0.69%	1.3%	88.41%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0.68%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0.5%	0%