Fairfowl Surname

4,532,898th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 19 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
England
Highest density in:
Northern Ireland

Fairfowl Surname Definition:

John Fairfowl or Fairful was one of the bailies of St. Andrews, 1480 (Macdonald, 899). Sir John Ferfulle, chaplain, was witness in Cupar, 1511 (Laing, 279), William Fairfull, clerk of Dunkeld diocese, 1550 (ibid., 563), Mr. John Fairfoull or Farfull was schoolmaster in Dunfermline, 1582—85 (Dunfermline), and Jonet Fairfull was heir of Andrew Scot in Pettinweyme, 1646 (Inquis.

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Fairfowl Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England101:5,571,806158,774
Northern Ireland81:230,63010,839
United States11:362,458,9331,988,048
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Scotland281:133,6865,889
England91:2,708,37473,770
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States161:3,138,668142,671

Fairfowl Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

John Fairfowl or Fairful was one of the bailies of St. Andrews, 1480 (Macdonald, 899). Sir John Ferfulle, chaplain, was witness in Cupar, 1511 (Laing, 279), William Fairfull, clerk of Dunkeld diocese, 1550 (ibid., 563), Mr. John Fairfoull or Farfull was schoolmaster in Dunfermline, 1582—85 (Dunfermline), and Jonet Fairfull was heir of Andrew Scot in Pettinweyme, 1646 (Inquis., 3169). Alexander Fairfoul, "shoemaker in St. Androeswas retoured heir of Robert Phennesoune "his gudser on the mother syd," 1653 (Retours, Fife, 821), Andrew Fairfowl, son of John Fairfowl of Anstruther, was consecrated archbishop of Glasgow, 1662 (Keith, Bishops, 1824, p. 265), James Fairfowle was commissary of Brechin, 1686 (Edinb. Marr.), and Cohn Fairfowl was one of the garrison of Doune in 1715 (HMC., 3. Rep., App., p. 385). Fairefoule and Fairfall 1661, Farefull 1680, and Melville spells the name Fearfull. Ferguson (Teutonic name system, p. 93—94) suggests spelling should be Farefowl, with meaning "bird of passage," and compares Summerfugl and Winterfugl.

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

Fairfowl Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Fairfowl Come From? nationality or country of origin

The last name Fairfowl occurs in England more than any other country or territory. It can also be found in the variant forms:. For other possible spellings of this surname click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Fairfowl? popularity and diffusion

The last name Fairfowl is the 4,532,898th most commonly used family name world-wide, borne by approximately 1 in 383,555,048 people. Fairfowl occurs predominantly in Europe, where 95 percent of Fairfowl live; 95 percent live in Northern Europe and 95 percent live in British Isles.

This surname is most frequently held in England, where it is borne by 10 people, or 1 in 5,571,806. In England it is most numerous in: Cambridgeshire, where 50 percent live, Surrey, where 20 percent live and Greater London, where 20 percent live. Barring England it is found in 2 countries. It is also found in Northern Ireland, where 42 percent live and The United States, where 5 percent live.

Fairfowl Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Fairfowl has changed through the years. In England the number of people bearing the Fairfowl surname rose 111 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in The United States it fell 94 percent between 1880 and 2014.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Fairfoul88100/
Fairfoll880/
Fairfool880/
Fairfoull8263/
Fairful8067/
Fierfol802/
Fairfull75485/
Farfolay759/
Farfolha756/
Fairfall752/
Fairfiel752/
Fierfole751/
Fairfaul750/
Farfal71355/
Farfel71222/
Farfollay7116/
Faurfoull714/
Varfol713/
Farful711/
Fairvl711/
Fierfolle711/
Farfil711/
Farfolleh711/
Farvol711/
Firfili6725/
Farfala6719/
Farvolo6711/
Farfila679/
Varfoly678/
Frfl673/
Farafal672/
Forfoul671/
Forfoli671/
Farffil671/
Farofel671/
Farvola671/
Farfaly671/
Farfylo671/
Frifoli671/
Frafola671/
Farfell671/
Farfali671/
Farfall670/
Fearful670/

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Fairfowl
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis