Prinston
A baby name blending the elements of "prince" and "stone".
Name Census estimates that about 95 living Americans carry the first name Prinston. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Prinston today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Prinston births was 2013 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Prinston. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Prinston. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
95
~ 1 in 3,607,940 Americans
Peak year
2013
10 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2023 SSA rank
#13,668
Tracked since 1989
Census
Prinston in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 166 people with the first name Prinston, which placed it at #42,903 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#42,903
National first-name rank
People counted
166
166 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
75.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Prinston
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Prinston is Black at 75.9%. The next largest groups are White (7.2%) and Hispanic (7.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Prinston described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Prinston at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American75.9% · 126
- White7.2% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino7.2% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.0% · 10
- Two or more races3.6% · 6
Popularity
Prinston: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Prinston from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 51 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Prinston remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Prinston by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Prinston during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Prinston
The name Prinston is believed to have originated in the early 16th century from the Old English words "prin" meaning "prince" and "ston" meaning "stone" or "rock." It is thought to have been a name given to children born to families of noble or royal lineage, signifying their status as a "prince's stone" or a precious jewel.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Prinston can be found in the 1537 parish records of St. Michael's Church in Coventry, England, where a boy named Prinston Wycliffe was christened. This suggests that the name was in use among the gentry and educated classes of England during the Tudor period.
In the 17th century, a Prinston Fortescue (1617-1681) was a noted English politician and member of Parliament who served as Lord Chancellor of England under King Charles II. His prominent position in government and legal circles likely contributed to the continued use and recognition of the name during this time.
Another historical figure bearing the name Prinston was Sir Prinston Wentworth (1737-1809), a British naval officer who served with distinction during the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars. His exploits and bravery in battle may have inspired some families to adopt the name as a symbol of strength and courage.
In the 19th century, Prinston Makepeace (1812-1891) was a wealthy industrialist and philanthropist from Manchester, England, who donated significant funds towards the construction of schools and hospitals in his hometown. His generosity and commitment to public service likely added to the positive associations with the name.
Moving into the 20th century, Prinston Cavendish (1904-1987) was a renowned British explorer and author who wrote several books about his adventures in the Himalayan mountains and the Arctic regions. His fame and celebrity status may have contributed to the continued use of the name during this era.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Prinston. While not a commonly used name today, its origins and historical significance reflect a rich heritage and association with nobility, bravery, and achievement.
People
Prinston + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Prinston as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Prinston: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Prinston?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 95 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Prinston going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 3,607,940 US residents.
Is Prinston a common name?
We classify Prinston as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 96 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Prinston most popular?
The single biggest year for Prinston was 2013, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Prinston is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Prinston in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 166 people with the name Prinston, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #42,903 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Prinston in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Prinston?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Prinston appears almost entirely male. Of the 163 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Prinston?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Prinston is Black at 75.9%. The next largest groups are White (7.2%) and Hispanic (7.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Prinston most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Prinston in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.9% (126 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Prinston in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Prinston a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Prinston in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Prinston still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Prinston in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Prinston can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Prinston?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Prinston, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.