The Fawcett surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,381 people carried this name — #5,454 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 46,300 people counted. That is up 4% from 6,149 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Fawcett surname

A surname from Old English from places in England derived from Old English words for “colourful slope”.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Fawcett» (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: ‘of Forcett’.

His entry covers Fawcett and Fozard.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 283 · public domain.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Fawcett was found among the farmers of 3 counties.

It was most frequent in Yorkshire, North and East Ridings: 24 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 417. 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

Yorkshire, North and East Ridings 24
Cumberland and Westmorland 22
Yorkshire, West Riding 20

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

23 families named Fawcett, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 102 people lived in those households, 4.4 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 6 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

North Carolina 9
Virginia 8
Pennsylvania 4
Maine 1
South Carolina 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

Fawcett in American newspapers,
1925–1928.

Newspaper page from Le Messager carrying the name Fawcett
Le Messager 1928-09-14
Newspaper page from Le Messager carrying the name Fawcett
Le Messager 1927-03-21
Newspaper page from The Wolf Point Herald carrying the name Fawcett
The Wolf Point Herald 1925-06-04

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 77,753 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Fawcett in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2000s.

47,323 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Fawcett. The most, 6,378, date from the 1880s. New South Wales 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 the Northern Territory, at 6.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 17,639
Victoria 14,068
South Australia 5,761
Queensland 4,192
Western Australia 3,564
Tasmania 1,446
Northern Territory 386
ACT (Canberra) 230

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

Who carried it

People named Fawcett,
with a public archive behind them.

  • William Fawcett
    William Fawcett 1728–1804 · military personnel
  • John Fawcett
    John Fawcett 1739–1817 · writer
  • Arthur H. Fawcett Jr. d. 2008 · lawyer
  • Hannah Fawcett d. 1866
  • Anna Laura Fawcett d. 1947
  • Elizabeth Fawcett d. 1801

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 Fawcett,
in the records of 8 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 States1,105 records

1,105 records of the Fawcett name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 264
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 255
  • Other U.S. records 586
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Merlin D. Fawcett

    Born 1924 in Iowa. Enlisted 1943 at Camp Dodge Herrold; farm hand from Sac County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2001, buried at North Lawn Cemetery, Fort Dodge, Iowa.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jane E. Fawcett

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Britannic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 16; servant. From Loftus, England; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Donald James Fawcett

    Born 1941; from Monongahela, Pennsylvania. U.S. Army, medical specialist; died in an accident 1966 in South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 1,105 records for Fawcett in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · 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. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia902 records

902 records of the Fawcett name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 514
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 197
  • Other Australian records 191
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Robert Fawcett

    Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1853. Married 1853 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 25.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. 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 Joseph Fawcett

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the John, arriving 1837; ticket of leave 1845. Native of Durham.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Henry Fawcett

    Arrived in Queensland in 1887 aboard the Dacca, aged 17.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 902 records for Fawcett in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); 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).

Canada127 records

127 records of the Fawcett name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 42
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 25
  • Other Canadian records 60
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Wm Fawcett

    Came to Ontario in 1880 aboard the Manitoban, landing at Quebec, bound for Proton, Ontario; Irish.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Douglas Ernest Fawcett

    Died 1997, aged 73; buried at St. Vital Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record George Humphrey Fawcett

    Died 1942 in Eastern Passage, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 127 records for Fawcett in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom48 records

48 records of the Fawcett name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 37
  • Stirling Council burial records 6
  • Other British records 5
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Peter Fawcett

    Died 1969, aged 75; buried at Bannockburn Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record George Fawcett

    Will proved in 1884; of Conway, Carnarvon.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record T. R. Fawcett

    Gunner, Royal Warwickshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

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

Showing 3 of 48 records for Fawcett in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (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); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand28 records

28 records of the Fawcett name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 21
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 6
  • Waimakariri District cemetery records, Canterbury 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Elizabeth Fawcett

    Died 1932, aged 53; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Lily Fawcett

    Died 1937, aged 46; buried at Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Henry William Fawcett

    Died 1984; ashes interred at Kaiapoi Public Cemetery, Canterbury.

    Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 28 records for Fawcett in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

France8 records

8 records of the Fawcett 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 Raoul Robert Fawcett

    Born 1902 in Marcq-en-Barœul; died 1976 in Lille (Nord).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Carmen Florette Fawcett

    Born 1895 in Marcq-en-Barœul; died 1977 in Marcq-en-Barœul (Nord).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Albert William Fawcett

    Born 1919 in Great Britain; died 2000 in Ajaccio (Corse-du-Sud).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 8 records for Fawcett in France.

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).

Norway5 records

5 records of the Fawcett name in Norway Norway's 1910 census
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Census record Martha Fawcett

    Census of 1910: Hospitalgate, Stavanger; born 1888 in Morgan Co. Ohio.

    Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Census record Jason Fawcett

    Census of 1910: Hospitalgate, Stavanger; born 1848 in Morgan County Ohio, United States.

    Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO)

Showing 2 of 5 records for Fawcett in Norway.

Counts: Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Netherlands3 records

3 records of the Fawcett name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 2
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 1
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record William Fawcett

    Married in 1694 in Rotterdam; born in Islington In Engeland.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Annis Mary Fawcett

    In the population register of 's-Gravenhage; born 1905 in Goodmages.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 3 records for Fawcett in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Fawcett.

When the index is not enough

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