How common is the surname Fitch?

19,060 people in the United States had the surname Fitch in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 16,199 Americans. It ranked 1,885th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Fitch?

Val Logsdon Fitch, American physicist, followed by John Fitch.

Where is the surname Fitch most common?

Wikidata records people named Fitch in the United States, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Australia.

Is the surname Fitch getting more or less common?

More common. 18,740 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 19,060 in 2010, up 1.7%.

The surname Fitch

A French surname, carried by 19,060 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex F320

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Fitch is more common than 98.8% of them.

Origin

French origin

English surname, possibly from Old French fiche (“iron post”). A connection with the noun fitch (“polecat”) is unlikely as the surname predates it by at least 300 years.

One of 791 French surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 19,060 people named Fitch in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 16,199 Americans. That is up 1.7% since 2000, when the Census counted 18,740.

#1,885

rank among US surnames

19,060

people in 2010

6.5

per 100,000 Americans

+1.7%

change since 2000 (was #1,753)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,876	Landers	19,144	16,128
#1,878	Mims	19,139	16,132
#1,879	Brand	19,135	16,135
#1,880	Delossantos	19,131	16,138
#1,881	Vallejo	19,117	16,150
#1,882	Lima	19,109	16,157
#1,883	Cronin	19,078	16,183

Who is named Fitch

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

84% of people named Fitch identified as white (not Hispanic), 9.0% as Black (not Hispanic) and 3.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 84%
Black (not Hispanic) 9.0%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.2%
Two or more races 2.0%
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.5%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Fitchs

13 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Val Logsdon Fitch
American physicist, 1923–2015
John Fitch
American inventor, clockmaker, entrepreneur and engineer (1743–1798)
Horatio Fitch
Athletics competitor (1900–1985)
Bill Fitch
American basketball coach (1934–2022)
Alfred Fitch
Athletics competitor (1912–1981)
Walter Hood Fitch
Botanical illustrator (1817-1892)
Jon Fitch
American mixed martial artist, born 1978
Janet Fitch
American writer, born 1955
Asa Fitch
American entomologist (1809–1879)
Gerald Fitch
American basketball player (born 1982)
Joyce Fitch
Australian tennis player (1922-2012)
Clyde Fitch
American playwright (1865-1909)

Notable Fitchs come mostly from the United States (11), the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1) and Australia (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Fidge

Surnames that sound like Fitch

Fitch has the Soundex code F320, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code F320.

Other French surnames

All 791 French surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Fitch come from?: English surname, possibly from Old French fiche (“iron post”). A connection with the noun fitch (“polecat”) is unlikely as the surname predates it by at least 300 years.
How common is the surname Fitch?: 19,060 people in the United States had the surname Fitch in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 16,199 Americans. It ranked 1,885th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Fitch?: In the 2010 Census, 84% of people named Fitch identified as white (not Hispanic), and 9.0% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Fitch?: Val Logsdon Fitch, American physicist, followed by John Fitch.
Where is the surname Fitch most common?: Wikidata records people named Fitch in the United States, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Australia.
Is the surname Fitch getting more or less common?: More common. 18,740 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 19,060 in 2010, up 1.7%.
What are other spellings of Fitch?: Fidge.