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Fair Family History

Fair Name Meaning

English: nickname meaning ‘handsome beautiful fair’ Middle English fair fayr Old English fæger. The word was also occasionally used as a personal name in Middle English applied to both men and women. Irish: translation into English of Gaelic fionn ‘fair’ which Woulfe describes as a ‘descriptive epithet that supplanted the real surname’ or a shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac F(h)inn a variant of Mag Fhinn (see McGinn ).

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: Farr, Fail, Hain, Cain, Hair, Fait, Faix, Mair, Fain, Nair

Search for a relative to learn more about your family history.

Hint: Try searching for a relative alive in 1940.

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Where is the Fair family from?

You can see how Fair families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Fair family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Fair families were found in USA in 1880. In 1891 there were 188 Fair families living in London. This was about 32% of all the recorded Fair's in United Kingdom. London had the highest population of Fair families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Fair surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

What did your Fair ancestors do for a living?

In 1939, Carpenter and Unpaid Domestic Duties were the top reported jobs for men and women in the United Kingdom named Fair. 14% of Fair men worked as a Carpenter and 72% of Fair women worked as an Unpaid Domestic Duties. Some less common occupations for Americans named Fair were Bank Clerk and Housewife. .

View Census Data for Fair | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1939

  • Carpenter
    14%
  • Private Means
    14%
  • General Labourer
    14%
  • Bank Clerk
    7%

Top Female Occupations In 1939

  • Unpaid Domestic Duties
    72%
  • Unpaid Domestic
    5%
  • Private Means
    3%
  • Housewife
    3%
Black & white image of two construction labourers

What Fair family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 95,000 census records available for the last name Fair. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Fair census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search UK census records for Fair

Passenger Lists

There are 8,000 immigration records available for the last name Fair. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Fair immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 26,000 military records available for the last name Fair. For the veterans among your Fair ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Fair military records

You've only scratched the surface of Fair family history

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What is the average Fair lifespan?

Between 1941 and 2004, in the United States, Fair life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1945, and highest in 1998. The average life expectancy for Fair in 1941 was 32, and 71 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Fair

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