# Ferris (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/ferris/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname transferred from the given name derived from the given name Fergus and/or from the Norman surname Ferrers.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Norman |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 20,703 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,732 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 14,913 people |
| Change since 2000 | -0.2% (20,743 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

English surname, from Norman Ferrers, from the toponymic Ferrières, from French fer (“iron”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Ferris in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 91% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 2.2% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 3.0% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.8% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.3% |
| Two or more races | 1.6% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Ferris in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.

## People named Ferris

- Pam Ferris, British actress
- George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr., American engineer (1859-1896)
- Michelle Ferris, Australian cyclist
- Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, American painter (1863–1930)
- Woodbridge N. Ferris, American politician and educator (1853–1928)
- Audrey Ferris, American actress (1909–1990)
- John Ferris, American swimmer, Olympic bronze medalist, former world record-holder (1949-2020)
- Emil Ferris, American writer, cartoonist, and designer

## Similar surnames

Farris, Frias, Fries, Faris, Fears, Fierros, Friese, Friess, Ferraz, Frisk, Farrish, Ferrucci.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.