How common is the surname Furness?

2,198 people in the United States had the surname Furness in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 140,467 Americans. It ranked 13,764th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Furness?

Deborra-Lee Furness, Australian actress, followed by Caroline Furness.

Where is the surname Furness most common?

Wikidata records people named Furness in the United States and Australia.

Is the surname Furness getting more or less common?

More common. 1,712 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 2,198 in 2010, up 28%.

The surname Furness

An Irish surname, carried by 2,198 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex F652

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Furness is more common than 91.5% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

* The placename is of Old Norse origin; the second element is nes (“headland”). The first has been variously explained as: ** the obsolete futh (“rump”) + nes (“headland”), possibly referring to Piel Island. ** derived from Old English fodor (“fodder”) ** McClure suggested a derivation from Old Irish foithir (“wood; slope”) * The surname is from the above place. * As an English surname of Norman origin, variant of Furneaux, Furnace. * As a Norwegian surname, old variant of Furnes, from several farmstead names derived from Old Norse fura (“pine”) + nes (“headland”).

One of 880 Irish surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 2,198 people named Furness in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 140,467 Americans. That is up 28% since 2000, when the Census counted 1,712.

#13,764

rank among US surnames

2,198

people in 2010

0.8

per 100,000 Americans

+28.4%

change since 2000 (was #15,670)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#13,759	Baumer	2,199	140,403
#13,764	Bizzell	2,198	140,467
#13,771	Badgley	2,197	140,531

Who is named Furness

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

92% of people named Furness identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.9% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 92%
Black (not Hispanic) 2.9%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.4%
Two or more races 1.7%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.4%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Furnesss

3 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Deborra-Lee Furness
Australian actress, born 1955
Caroline Furness
American astronomer (1869 – 1936)
Betty Furness
American actress, consumer advocate and current affairs commentator (1916-1994)

Notable Furnesss come mostly from the United States (2) and Australia (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Furnas

Surnames that sound like Furness

Furness has the Soundex code F652, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code F652.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Furness come from?: * The placename is of Old Norse origin; the second element is nes (“headland”). The first has been variously explained as: ** the obsolete futh (“rump”) + nes (“headland”), possibly referring to Piel Island. ** derived from Old English fodor (“fodder”) ** McClure suggested a derivation from Old…
How common is the surname Furness?: 2,198 people in the United States had the surname Furness in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 140,467 Americans. It ranked 13,764th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Furness?: In the 2010 Census, 92% of people named Furness identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.9% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Furness?: Deborra-Lee Furness, Australian actress, followed by Caroline Furness.
Where is the surname Furness most common?: Wikidata records people named Furness in the United States and Australia.
Is the surname Furness getting more or less common?: More common. 1,712 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 2,198 in 2010, up 28%.
What are other spellings of Furness?: Furnas.