2000
#12,976
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,166
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.80
Rare Last name
Abston
Derived from a place name meaning "Abba's town" in Old English, referring to a settlement owned by someone named Abba.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,416 Americans carry the last name Abston. That puts it at #13,753 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.70 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 141,869 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Abston surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.4K
1 in 141,869
Census rank
#13,753
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,107 bearers of the surname Abston in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.70 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13753rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Abston, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.0%. The next largest groups are Black (28.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Abston
The surname ABSTON is of English origin, tracing its roots back to the medieval era. It is thought to have originated from a place name, likely a small village or hamlet in one of the northern counties of England. The earliest recorded spelling of the name is found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1273, where it appears as 'de Abbeston'.
This spelling suggests that the name may have derived from the Old English words 'abbod' meaning 'abbot' and 'tun' meaning 'farm' or 'settlement'. It is possible that the name referred to a settlement or estate owned or governed by an abbot or monastic order. Similar place names like Abbotsford and Abbotsbury lend credence to this theory.
The ABSTON surname does not appear in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, indicating that it likely emerged later in the 12th or 13th century. However, it is mentioned in several other historical records from the 13th and 14th centuries, including the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire in 1279 and the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327.
One of the earliest recorded individuals bearing the name was John de Abston, who was mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1292. Another early bearer was William Abston, who was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1327.
As the name spread across England, various spelling variations emerged, including Abston, Abestone, Abyston, and Abbyston. The variant Abstone is found in the Hearth Tax Rolls of Derbyshire in 1662, while the spelling Abyston appears in the Parish Registers of St. Mary's Church in Lambeth, London, in 1676.
Notable individuals with the ABSTON surname throughout history include:
1. Sir Richard Abston (1580-1644), an English politician and Member of Parliament for Northamptonshire.
2. William Abston (1635-1699), an English clergyman and author of several theological works.
3. Mary Abston (1675-1725), a British herbalist and midwife renowned for her expertise in traditional medicine.
4. John Abston (1720-1784), a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War.
5. Elizabeth Abston (1780-1861), a British philanthropist and advocate for education who founded several schools for underprivileged children.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Abston
Among Census respondents with the surname Abston, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.0%. The next largest groups are Black (28.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Abston bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Abston surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.0% · 1,370
- Black or African American28.0% · 590
- Two or more races4.0% · 85
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 40
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Abston
Abston appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#13,466
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,261
+95 bearers (+4.4%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Down 490 places
2020
#13,753
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,107
-154 bearers (-6.8%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Down 287 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,976 | 2,166 | 0.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,466 | 2,261 | 0.77 | +95 bearers (+4.4%) | Down 490 places |
| 2020 | #13,753 | 2,107 | 0.70 | -154 bearers (-6.8%) | Down 287 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Abston surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #13,466 | #13,753 | -2.1% |
| Count | 2,261 | 2,107 | -6.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.77 | 0.70 | -8.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Abston bearers went from 2,261 to 2,107 (-6.8% change). The surname moved down 287 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,466 to #13,753.
FAQ
Abston surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Abston?
Name Census estimates that about 2,416 living Americans carry the surname Abston. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 141,869 residents.
How common is Abston?
Abston ranks #13,753 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.70 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,107 people with the surname Abston. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,416), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.70 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Abston.
Has Abston become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Abston went from 2,261 recorded bearers to 2,107. That is a decrease of 154 (-6.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,466 to #13,753.
What does the Census say about the background of Abston?
Among Census respondents with the surname Abston, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.0%. The next largest groups are Black (28.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Abston in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.0% (1,370 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Abston appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (65.0%), Black (28.0%), Two or More Races (4.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Abston (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Abston mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "Abba's town" in Old English, referring to a settlement owned by someone named Abba. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Abston (0.70 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Abston?
For a quick modern take, check how common the surname Abston is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.