The Fairchild surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 13,993 people carried this name — #2,581 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 21,100 people counted. That is up 2% from 13,700 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Fairchild surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a nickname: ‘fair child’.

An early record he cites: Adam Fayrchild, Oxfordshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 280 · public domain.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Fairchild was found among the farmers of Devon: 7 in every 10,000.

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

Devon 7

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

104 families named Fairchild, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 577 people lived in those households, 5.6 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 3 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

Connecticut 60
New York 20
Vermont 9
Massachusetts 6
South Carolina 5
North Carolina 2
Rhode Island 1
Pennsylvania 1

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

Fairchild in American newspapers,
1895–1911.

Newspaper page from Ottumwa Tri-weekly Courier carrying the name Fairchild
Ottumwa Tri-weekly Courier 1911-04-04
Newspaper page from Iron County Register carrying the name Fairchild
Iron County Register 1895-03-21
Newspaper page from Ottumwa Tri-weekly Courier carrying the name Fairchild
Ottumwa Tri-weekly Courier 1911-02-11

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 146,978 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Fairchild in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1990s.

5,248 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Fairchild. The most, 1,004, date from the 1930s. Victoria 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 South Australia, at 2.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 1,754
South Australia 1,710
Queensland 554
New South Wales 496
Tasmania 400
Western Australia 256
ACT (Canberra) 10
Northern Territory 1

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

Who carried it

People named Fairchild,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Thomas Fairchild
    Thomas Fairchild 1667–1729 · gardener
  • Frances Fairchild d. 1740
  • Thomas Fairchild 1610–1670
  • Samuel Fairchild 1640–1705
  • Alexander Fairchild 1680–1727
  • Edward Fairchild 1685–1747

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Fairchild,
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 States1,187 records

1,187 records of the Fairchild name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 430
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 324
  • Other U.S. records 433
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Flipper T. Fairchild

    Born 1912 in Arkansas. Enlisted 1943 at Los Angeles, California; yardman. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2001, buried at Riverside National Cemetery, California.

    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 Dennis Melvin Fairchild

    Born 1948; from Akron, Indiana. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1969 in Binh Duong, South Vietnam.

    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 Edith Fairchild

    Arrived at New York in 1882 aboard the Germanic from Liverpool, aged 23; servant. From Ireland.

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

Showing 3 of 1,187 records for Fairchild in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). 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).

Australia236 records

236 records of the Fairchild name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 126
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 55
  • Other Australian records 55
  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 Charles Fairchild

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Aurora, sailing from Downs in 1835. Native of Epping, Essex. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1843. Married 1843 in Avoca, Tasmania, aged 28.

    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 Mary Fairchild

    Arrived in Victoria in 1860 aboard the Result, aged 34; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record William Allen Fairchild

    Retired of Heidelberg, Victoria; died 2001.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 236 records for Fairchild in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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).

Canada20 records

20 records of the Fairchild name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 6
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 3
  • Other Canadian records 11
  1. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Cuff Fairchild

    Left New York in 1783 aboard the Symetry, bound for St. Johns, aged 55.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record William Lee Fairchild

    Buried in 1993 at Parkview Cemetery, Waterloo, Ontario.

    Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence
  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 John Harris Fairchild

    Died in service in 1916.

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

Showing 3 of 20 records for Fairchild 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 Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence · 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: Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom6 records

6 records of the Fairchild name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 5
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Frances Fairchild

    Buried in 1816 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 52.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record E. Fairchild

    King's Own Scottish Borderers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    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 J. W. Fairchild

    Gunner, Royal Field Artillery. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

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

Showing 3 of 6 records for Fairchild in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

France2 records

2 records of the Fairchild 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 Bertha Fairchild

    Born 1917 in the United States; died 1997 in Saint-Barthélemy (Guadeloupe).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record William Edward Cranston Fairchild

    Born 1918 in Great Britain; died 2000 in Biarritz (Pyrénées-Atlantiques).

    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 Fairchild.

When the index is not enough

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