Fairweather Surname

48,921st
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 10,525 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
England
Highest density in:
Jamaica

Fairweather Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a nickname. A colloquial expression for a happy, sunshiny fellow; v. Merryweather.

John Fayrweder, Cambridgeshire 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Hugh Fairweder, Lincolnshire, ibid.

Alexander Fairewedre, Close Rolls, 16 Edward.

Read More About This Surname

Fairweather Surname Distribution Map

By incidenceBy frequencyBy rank
Incidence (high to low)Incidence (low to high)Alphabetic A-ZAlphabetic Z-ARank (high to low)Rank (low to high)
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England3,0481:18,2802,613
United States2,6061:139,08614,500
Australia1,2811:21,0742,925
Canada1,0171:36,2304,614
Jamaica8431:3,404498
Scotland7551:7,0911,092
New Zealand5231:8,6581,495
South Africa1501:361,18532,866
Belize1031:3,451676
Wales441:70,3306,116
Thailand181:3,924,352328,346
Honduras181:489,8023,355
Netherlands131:1,299,01473,030
United Arab Emirates111:832,93427,512
Switzerland101:821,29253,588
Germany101:8,050,546248,660
Antigua and Barbuda91:11,0191,084
Hong Kong81:916,9354,774
Papua New Guinea51:1,630,743129,019
Spain41:11,688,009116,470
Singapore41:1,376,92628,409
Northern Ireland41:461,25916,615
Bahrain41:337,1526,054
Japan31:42,614,76459,022
Czechia31:3,544,490144,714
Ireland21:2,354,47019,715
Norway21:2,571,14395,402
Brazil21:107,037,1661,031,150
Italy21:30,578,344160,757
Indonesia21:66,124,597756,638
China21:683,660,78330,601
Malaysia21:14,747,112316,340
Sweden21:4,923,378241,212
France21:33,211,361423,184
Greece21:5,539,895129,142
Iceland11:380,09011,096
Azerbaijan11:9,649,12247,873
Belgium11:11,496,644167,539
Hungary11:9,816,27773,288
South Korea11:51,240,2568,015
India11:767,065,3821,851,717
Qatar11:2,357,99976,403
Philippines11:101,238,223404,861
Nigeria11:177,142,758748,972
Jersey11:99,2026,620
Kuwait11:3,800,69427,187
Show All Nations
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland181:246,10410,726
Incidence (high to low)Incidence (low to high)Alphabetic A-ZAlphabetic Z-ARank (high to low)Rank (low to high)
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England1,2321:19,7852,821
Scotland1,1031:3,394562
Jersey61:8,6471,503
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States2051:244,96920,381

Fairweather Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a nickname. A colloquial expression for a happy, sunshiny fellow; v. Merryweather.

John Fayrweder, Cambridgeshire 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Hugh Fairweder, Lincolnshire, ibid.

Alexander Fairewedre, Close Rolls, 16 Edward.

Juliana Fayerweder, 1379: Howdenshire, n. 17.

Valentine Fairewether, C. Philip and Mary, pt.

1683. Married — Peter Farewether and Mercy Blunt: St. James, Clerkenwell.

1783. — John Fairweather and Sarah ---: St. George, Hanover Square.

— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

John Phairwedder held a land in Perth in the reign of James II (Scon, p. 188), and Christopher Farewethir was serjeant of Linlithgow in 1472 (Sc. Ant., XVII, p. 117). The surname is of considerable antiquity in the Menmuir district. Valter Farwedder, presbyter of Dunkeld, whose name appears in 1547—63 is probably the first of the name in the locality. There were Fairweathers in Blairno in Navar in the early seventeenth century (Jervise, II, p. 340). Walter Fairwedder witnessed a precept of sasine of the lands of Fyndowry in 1558 (REB., II, 280), and Agnes Fairwodder was heir of Robert Fairwodder, merchant burgess of Dundee in 1609 (Inquis., 419). Thomas Fairweather is recorded in Dundee in 1583, and eighteen more of the name appear in the Commissariot Record of Brechin between 1576 and 1800. Thomas Fairwoder was burgess of Dundee in 1634 (Retours, Forfar, 224), and the Devil rebaptized the witch Catherine Skair in Brechin by the name of Isoble Farewedder. Janet Fairweather is recorded in the parish of Olrik in 1664 (Caithness), and John Fairweather of Turriff was killed in the first Great War (Turriff). A fanciful story is told of the origin of the name of the Fairweathers of Angus. This sept, it is said, was a branch of the old tribe of Morrey. The name is said, according to private family tradition, to be derived from three brothers' of the ancient Murrevians, who being forced to leave the north, assumed the name, in order to perpetuate the remembrance of their northern descent:-it being written in the Book of Job, ch. XXXVII. 22, 'Fair weather cometh out of the north' (Peter, Baronage of Angus, p. 91). Fairvedder 1609, Fainvadder 1537, Fairwoother 1649, Farveddar 1607. Fairwaddire, Fairweddor, Farewadder, Farweddar.

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

(English) a nickname for one of a jovial or sunny disposition [Old Englishfæger + weder] Cp. Merryweather.

— Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(English) One who worked only in good weather; one with a happy disposition.

— Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

Fayrweder, H. R. See the cognate name Merryweather.

— Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

From Fairwater; a location name in Glamorgan.

— British Family Names: Their Origin and Meaning (1903) by Henry Barber
DNA test information
Display Statistics on:

Fairweather Demographics

Fairweather Political Affiliation
in United States

Sample size: 571 (2014)

United States
Average

View the most partisan surnames in The United States

Fairweather Last Name Facts

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

Fairweather is borne by more people in England than any other country or territory. It may be rendered as a variant:. Click here for other potential spellings of this surname.

How Common Is The Last Name Fairweather? popularity and diffusion

The surname is the 48,921st most frequently occurring last name on a worldwide basis, held by around 1 in 692,403 people. The surname Fairweather occurs predominantly in The Americas, where 44 percent of Fairweather are found; 37 percent are found in Northern Europe and 37 percent are found in British Isles.

The last name Fairweather is most widely held in England, where it is held by 3,048 people, or 1 in 18,280. In England it is most prevalent in: Greater London, where 15 percent are found, Suffolk, where 7 percent are found and Norfolk, where 6 percent are found. Apart from England this surname is found in 45 countries. It also occurs in The United States, where 25 percent are found and Australia, where 12 percent are found.

Fairweather Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The occurrence of Fairweather has changed through the years. In England the number of people carrying the Fairweather last name grew 247 percent between 1881 and 2014; in The United States it grew 1,271 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Scotland it declined 32 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it declined 89 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Fairweather Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those bearing the Fairweather last name is primarily Anglican (94%) in Ireland.

In The United States those bearing the Fairweather surname are 1.41% more likely to be registered Democrats than The US average, with 54.64% being registered with the party.

The amount Fairweather earn in different countries varies greatly. In South Africa they earn 102.27% more than the national average, earning R 480,660 per year; in United States they earn 12.4% more than the national average, earning $48,498 USD per year and in Canada they earn 5.92% more than the national average, earning $52,622 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

Incidence (high to low)Incidence (low to high)Alphabetic A-ZAlphabetic Z-ASimilarity (high to low)Similarity (low to high)Prevalent jurisdiction A-ZPrevalent jurisdiction Z-A
SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Fairwheather962/
Fairrweather961/
Fairwether9513/
Fairweater951/
Farweather951/
Fairwather951/
Firweather951/
Fairweathr950/
Fayrweather9110/
Fairwaether911/
Fairweahter911/
Fairweataer911/
Foirweather911/
Fairwater900/
Fayerweather87173/
Fayorweather870/
Farwater840/
Fourweather820/
Fairbeter801/
Fairbetter7664/
Farvater746/
Vaarwater7022/
Farvaterova641/
Verwater63305/
Veerwater6012/
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Fairweather Reference & Research

Fairweather One-name Study - A profile of the Fairweather surname with contact details for a researcher who collects any information pertaining to it.

Fairweather FamilyTree DNA Group - A group collating DNA test results for those who bear the surname, includes results of DNA tests and discussions.

Fairweather FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

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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 Fairweather
  • 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