The Fairbanks surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 9,466 people carried this name — #3,743 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 31,200 people counted. That is up 6% from 8,948 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Fairbanks surname

A habitational surname. An English habitational surname for someone who lived in any of several places named "fair bank" etc.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Fairbanks» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘at the fairbank’ — the first of the origins he gives.

His entry covers Fairbank, Fairbanks and Firbank.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 279 · public domain.

In the Nordic population registers

22 people named Fairbanks is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 22

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Fairbanks was found among the farmers of 2 counties.

It was most frequent in Nottinghamshire: 12 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 833. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Nottinghamshire 12
Staffordshire 10

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

119 families named Fairbanks, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 693 people lived in those households, 5.8 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 7 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Massachusetts 78
Maryland 10
New Hampshire 9
Maine 7
Vermont 5
Rhode Island 4
Connecticut 3
New York 3

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 239 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Fairbanks in American newspapers,
1825.

Newspaper page from New-hampshire Statesman And Concord Register carrying the name Fairbanks
New-hampshire Statesman And Concord Register 1825-12-03
Newspaper page from New-hampshire Intelligencer carrying the name Fairbanks
New-hampshire Intelligencer 1825-10-19
Newspaper page from New-hampshire Statesman And Concord Register carrying the name Fairbanks
New-hampshire Statesman And Concord Register 1825-11-05

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 19,007 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Fairbanks in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1980s.

6,321 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Fairbanks. The most, 1,484, date from the 1930s. Queensland has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Western Australia, at 2.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 1,712
Western Australia 1,633
New South Wales 1,159
South Australia 828
Victoria 727
Tasmania 194
ACT (Canberra) 31
Northern Territory 2

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Fairbanks.

Who carried it

People named Fairbanks,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Lynette Fairbanks d. 2023 · researcher
  • Jonathan Fairbanks 1594–1668
  • Jonathan Fairbanks 1630–1712
  • Eleazar Fairbanks 1655–1745
  • Jeremiah Fairbanks 1674–1735
  • Eleazar Fairbanks Jr. 1690–1741

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Fairbanks,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States719 records

719 records of the Fairbanks name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 255
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 190
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 108
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 75
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 47
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 39
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Charles W. Fairbanks

    Born 1908 in Pennsylvania. Enlisted 1941 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; typesetter. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1958, buried at Beverly National Cemetery, New Jersey.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Richard M. Fairbanks

    Born 1931; from Becker County, Minnesota. U.S. Army, heavy weapons infantryman; declared dead 1951 in North Korea.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Anna Fairbanks

    Arrived at New York in 1854 aboard the Shannon from Liverpool, aged 15; farmer. From England.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 719 records for Fairbanks in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia72 records

72 records of the Fairbanks name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 48
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 13
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 4
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 3
  • Tasmanian Names Index 3
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 1
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Darius Fairbanks

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the George III, sailing from Woolwich in 1834. Native of Sheffield, Yorkshire.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Eliza Fairbanks

    Arrived in Queensland in 1888 aboard the Taroba, aged 4.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Grace M. Fairbanks

    Retired of Albert Park, Victoria; died 1973.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 72 records for Fairbanks in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada67 records

67 records of the Fairbanks name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 52
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 11
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 2
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Calvin Fairbanks

    Buried in 1963 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 53.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Elizabeth Ann Fairbanks

    Died 1907 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Philip Fairbanks

    Died in service in 1916.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 67 records for Fairbanks in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom3 records

3 records of the Fairbanks name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record W. Fairbanks

    Lance Corporal, Lincolnshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record A. W. Fairbanks

    Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment). Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record E. Fairbanks

    Welsh Guards. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

France1 record

1 record of the Fairbanks name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Austen Crocker Fairbanks

    Born 1921 in the United States; died 1991 in La Celle-Saint-Cloud (Yvelines).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Fairbanks.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Fairbanks is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Fairbanks volume
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