# Fortune (surname)

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

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Portuguese |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 11,748 |
| US rank (2010) | 3,051 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 26,281 people |
| Change since 2000 | +6.6% (11,016 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈfɔɹ.t͡ʃən/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

The name of the town in Newfoundland is derived from Portuguese fortuna (“luck, fortune”). The name may refer to a fortuitous event that occurred in the nearby bay.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Fortune 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) | 57% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 37% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.2% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.9% |
| Two or more races | 2.5% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Fortune in the United States and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

## People named Fortune

- Robert Fortune, British botanist
- Sonny Fortune, American saxophonist (1939–2018)
- Frederick Fortune, bobsledder (1921-1994)
- Timothy Thomas Fortune, American writer, activist (1856–1928)
- Victor Fortune, British Army general (1883-1949)

## Similar surnames

Fortin, Fortney, Fortuna, Fortino, Fortner, Fortenberry, Fortunato, Fortman, Friedman, Freedman, Fordham, Farthing.

## 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.