The Fenton surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 16,017 people carried this name — #2,274 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 18,400 people counted. That is up 5% from 15,220 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Fenton surname

A habitational surname from Old English.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Fenton» (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 Fenton’.

An early record he cites: Gilbert de Fenton, Yorkshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 285 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 19 births for the Fenton name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Munster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 800 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Munster 11
Ulster 6
Connacht 1
Leinster 1

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 25 people named Fenton.

Most of them — 20 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 4 départements, most often Yvelines.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 20
Yvelines 2
Bouches-du-Rhône 1
Paris 1
Martinique 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Poland’s population register

22 people named Fenton have a registered home in Poland.

Of the 48 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 2 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Silesian.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Silesian 15
Warmian-Masurian 7

PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.

In the Nordic population registers

21 people named Fenton is counted in Sweden.

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

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 21

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

Fenton was found among the farmers of Nottinghamshire: 12 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

Nottinghamshire 12

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 Scotland’s registers today

Fenton was recorded 25 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 962nd most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 42. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

62 families named Fenton, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 311 people lived in those households, 5 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 2 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 29
Pennsylvania 11
New York 8
Virginia 5
Vermont 3
Massachusetts 3
Maryland 2
New Hampshire 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. 240 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Fenton in American newspapers,
1874–1895.

Newspaper page from San Antonio Daily Light carrying the name Fenton
San Antonio Daily Light 1890-08-29
Newspaper page from Ellsworth American carrying the name Fenton
Ellsworth American 1874-07-30
Newspaper page from The Canton Times carrying the name Fenton
The Canton Times 1895-03-22

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 5,327 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Fenton in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

100,290 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Fenton. The most, 33,173, 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 Tasmania, at 2.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 28,982
New South Wales 24,924
Queensland 16,206
Tasmania 15,388
Western Australia 6,952
South Australia 6,679
ACT (Canberra) 949
Northern Territory 90

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

Who carried it

People named Fenton,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Sagie Velle Fenton d. 1916 · writer
  • William Henry Fenton d. 1936 · antiquarian seller
  • Lewis Fenton d. 1833 · politician
  • John Fenton d. 1556 · politician
  • William Carter Fenton d. 1959 · politician
  • Henry Frederick Fenton d. 1952 · politician

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

In the public record

People named Fenton,
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 States2,296 records

2,296 records of the Fenton name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 527
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 487
  • Other U.S. records 1,282
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record James Williard Fenton

    Born 1946; from Prescott, Arizona. U.S. Army, infantryman; died of wounds 1970 in Tay Ninh, South Vietnam. Buried at Prescott National Cemetery, Arizona.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Timothy J. Fenton

    Born 1917 in Indiana. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Benjamin Harrison; salesperson. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Catholic Cemeteries Association, Indianapolis, Indiana.

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

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Teutonic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 16; servant. From Dingle, Ireland; bound for Pittsburgh.

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

Showing 3 of 2,296 records for Fenton 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) · 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: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia1,828 records

1,828 records of the Fenton name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 740
  • Tasmanian Names Index 582
  • Other Australian records 506
  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 Daniel Fenton

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the London, sailing from Portsmouth in 1844. Native of Glasgow, Lanarkshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1851. Married 1851 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 27.

    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 Alexander Fenton

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Lady Franklin, sailing from Norfolk Island in 1844. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1854.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Leonora Fenton

    Died 1856 in New Norfolk, Tasmania, aged 60. Will registered in Tasmania in 1857.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,828 records for Fenton 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) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (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); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada570 records

570 records of the Fenton name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 484
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 24
  • Other Canadian records 62
  1. 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 Percy Forman Fenton

    Served in the No. 2 Construction Battalion in the First World War, private; of Arcadia, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Wm Fenton

    Came to Ontario in 1879 aboard the Moravian, landing at Quebec, bound for Hamilton, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Marjorie E. Fenton

    Buried in 1943 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 49.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.

Showing 3 of 570 records for Fenton in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · 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 Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); 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).

United Kingdom83 records

83 records of the Fenton name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 37
  • Stirling Council burial records 25
  • Other British records 21
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record James Fenton

    Born 1880 at Aberdeen; hairdresser. Served in the First World War. Named in the Morayshire roll of honour (1921).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Janet Fenton

    Died 1998, aged 96; buried at Snowdon Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Francis Fenton

    Buried in 1832 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 73.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 83 records for Fenton 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. · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). 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); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

New Zealand25 records

25 records of the Fenton name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 21
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 3
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Fenton

    Died 1920, aged 27; buried at Bromley 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 John Fenton

    Buried in 1912 at Buffalo Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 60.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record E. Fenton

    Corporal, New Zealand Rifle Brigade. 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 25 records for Fenton in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0).

Netherlands12 records

12 records of the Fenton name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 5
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 5
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 2
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Henrij Philip Fenton

    Died 1907 in 's-Gravenhage, aged 86.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Elizabeth Amelia Fenton

    Married in 1837 in Heusden; born 1814 in Londen, England.

    Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 12 records for Fenton in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Ireland6 records

6 records of the Fenton name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Oliver Fenton

    Died 1984, aged 71; buried at St Marys, Tuam, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Sarah Fenton

    Died 1976; buried at St Marys, Tuam, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 6 records for Fenton in Ireland.

Counts: Galway County 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).

France6 records

6 records of the Fenton 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 Germaine Esther Florence Fenton

    Born 1912 in Indre (Loire-Atlantique); died 1999 in Asnières-sur-Seine (Hauts-de-Seine).

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

    Born 1955 in Huddersfield (Angleterre); died 2001 in Limoges (Haute-Vienne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 6 records for Fenton 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Fenton.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Fenton 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.

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