Folsom
An English locational surname, probably from Foulsham in Norfolk, later carried to America in altered spelling.
The #4,667 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 40,635 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Folsom is generally treated as a reduced or altered form of the English place-name Foulsham in Norfolk. The place-name itself appears in medieval records in forms such as Foulsham and Folsham, and the surname likely meant someone who came from that village. Some 19th-century writers also suggested a broader corruption from forms like Foulsham or Foulshame, but the locational explanation is the main one.
History
The surname is recorded in medieval English sources in forms close to Folsham/Foulsham, and later the spelling Folsom became established. Bardsley notes that the surname spread widely in the United States, where it is now more common than in England. A family tradition cited in later American writing linked it to an immigrant ancestor named John Foulsham.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bardsley specifically remarks that the Folsom form had “widely extended its ramifications” in the United States.
From the historical record
“in CO. Norfolk. With Foulsom or Folsom, cf. Newaom sod Kewsham. This surname in the form of Folsom has widely extended its ramifica- tions in the United States. Ernald de FoUaa”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instancesNotable people named Folsom
- Frances Cleveland (1864–1947)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.