2000
#4,019
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.01
Rare Last name
Bannister
An occupational surname referring to a person who made or fitted bannisters or stair railings.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,496 Americans carry the last name Bannister. That puts it at #4,149 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.77 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 36,095 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bannister 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Bannister with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.5K
1 in 36,095
Census rank
#4,149
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,281 bearers of the surname Bannister in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.77 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4149th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bannister, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.6%. The next largest groups are Black (21.7%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bannister
The surname Bannister has its origins in England, tracing back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old French word "banastre," which referred to a basket maker or merchant of baskets. The name's earliest recorded spelling was "le Banastre" in the Suffolk Rolls of 1275.
In medieval times, surnames often arose from occupations, and Bannister would have been given to an individual or family involved in the basket-making trade. As the name evolved, it took on various spellings such as Banaster, Banestre, and eventually the modern form Bannister.
One of the earliest known references to the name Bannister can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1279, where a Robert le Banastre is mentioned. The Hundred Rolls were administrative records compiled during the reign of King Edward I.
The Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners and tenants commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, does not contain the surname Bannister. However, it is likely that the name's origins can be traced back to the Norman conquest of England in the 11th century, when many French words and names were introduced into the English language.
One notable figure bearing the name Bannister was Sir John Bannister (1539-1630), a wealthy English merchant and Member of Parliament who served as Lord Mayor of London from 1587 to 1588. Another was the English actor and playwright John Bannister (1760-1836), renowned for his comic roles on the London stage.
In the 19th century, the Bannister surname gained further prominence with the achievements of Sir Roger Bannister (1929-2018), the English athlete who became the first person to run a sub-four-minute mile in 1954, setting a new world record of 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds.
Other noteworthy individuals with the surname Bannister include the English cricketer Sir Charles Bannister (1851-1919), who captained the English national cricket team, and the American actress Anne Bannister (1924-2006), known for her roles in television series such as "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Gunsmoke."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bannister
Among Census respondents with the surname Bannister, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.6%. The next largest groups are Black (21.7%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Bannister 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 Bannister surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.6% · 5,514
- Black or African American21.7% · 1,796
- Two or more races4.9% · 405
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 380
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 157
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 29
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bannister
Bannister 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
#4,105
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,639
+529 bearers (+6.5%)
Per 100,000 2.93
Rank movement Down 86 places
2020
#4,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,281
-358 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 2.77
Rank movement Down 44 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,019 | 8,110 | 3.01 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,105 | 8,639 | 2.93 | +529 bearers (+6.5%) | Down 86 places |
| 2020 | #4,149 | 8,281 | 2.77 | -358 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 44 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 Bannister 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 | #4,105 | #4,149 | -1.1% |
| Count | 8,639 | 8,281 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 2.93 | 2.77 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bannister bearers went from 8,639 to 8,281 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 44 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,105 to #4,149.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Bannister
FAQ
Bannister surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bannister?
Name Census estimates that about 9,496 living Americans carry the surname Bannister. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 36,095 residents.
How common is Bannister?
Bannister ranks #4,149 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.77 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,281 people with the surname Bannister. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,496), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.77 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.77 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Bannister.
Has Bannister become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bannister went from 8,639 recorded bearers to 8,281. That is a decrease of 358 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,105 to #4,149.
What does the Census say about the background of Bannister?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bannister, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.6%. The next largest groups are Black (21.7%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Bannister in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.6% (5,514 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bannister appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (66.6%), Black (21.7%), Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Bannister (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 Bannister mean?
An occupational surname referring to a person who made or fitted bannisters or stair railings. 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 Bannister (2.77 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 have the surname Bannister?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.