2000
#27,313
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 832
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.31
Very Rare Last name
Hurston
A surname derived from an English place name, possibly referring to someone from Hurston, Derbyshire.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 931 Americans carry the last name Hurston. That puts it at #30,718 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.27 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 368,157 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hurston 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
931
1 in 368,157
Census rank
#30,718
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
812
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 812 bearers of the surname Hurston in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.27 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 30718th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hurston, the largest self-reported group is Black at 52.8%. The next largest groups are White (37.6%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hurston
The surname Hurston originated in England, tracing its roots back to the early medieval period, around the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "hyrst" meaning a wooded hill or a hillock, and "tun" which signifies an enclosure or a village. This suggests that the name likely referred to individuals who resided near a wooded hill or a settlement located on such a terrain.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Hurston name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire, dated 1199, where a certain Robert de Hurston is mentioned. This indicates that the name was already in use by the late 12th century and may have originated even earlier.
During the 13th century, the Hurston name appeared in various records, including the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire from 1275, which lists a John de Hurston. This document provides valuable insights into the distribution of landholdings and the names of landowners at the time.
In the 14th century, the name Hurston appeared in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex from 1332, where a William Hurston is recorded. This document was a tax record, indicating that the Hurston family had established themselves as landowners and taxpayers in the region.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Hurston name was Sir John Hurston, a prominent figure who lived in the 15th century. He was a knight and a landowner in Lincolnshire, England, and is mentioned in various historical records from that time.
Another notable individual with the Hurston surname was William Hurston, a merchant and ship owner who lived in Bristol, England, during the late 16th century. He was involved in the thriving maritime trade of the time and played a role in the city's economic development.
In the 17th century, the Hurston name appeared in the Parish Registers of Oxfordshire, where a Thomas Hurston was recorded as being baptized in 1632. This provides evidence of the name's continuity and presence in different parts of England.
One of the most famous individuals with the Hurston surname was Zora Neale Hurston, an influential African American author and anthropologist born in 1891 in Notasulga, Alabama. She is best known for her novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God" and her contributions to the Harlem Renaissance literary movement.
While the Hurston name has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and Australia, where descendants of the original bearers have settled over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hurston
Among Census respondents with the surname Hurston, the largest self-reported group is Black at 52.8%. The next largest groups are White (37.6%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Hurston 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 Hurston surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American52.8% · 429
- White37.6% · 305
- Two or more races4.4% · 36
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hurston
Hurston 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
#27,918
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 859
+27 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 0.29
Rank movement Down 605 places
2020
#30,718
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 812
-47 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.27
Rank movement Down 2,800 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #27,313 | 832 | 0.31 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #27,918 | 859 | 0.29 | +27 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 605 places |
| 2020 | #30,718 | 812 | 0.27 | -47 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 2,800 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 Hurston 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 | #27,918 | #30,718 | -10.0% |
| Count | 859 | 812 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.29 | 0.27 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hurston bearers went from 859 to 812 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 2,800 positions in the national ranking, going from #27,918 to #30,718.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hurston
FAQ
Hurston surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hurston?
Name Census estimates that about 931 living Americans carry the surname Hurston. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 368,157 residents.
How common is Hurston?
Hurston ranks #30,718 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.27 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 812 people with the surname Hurston. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (931), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.27 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.27 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Hurston.
Has Hurston become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hurston went from 859 recorded bearers to 812. That is a decrease of 47 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #27,918 to #30,718.
What does the Census say about the background of Hurston?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hurston, the largest self-reported group is Black at 52.8%. The next largest groups are White (37.6%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Hurston in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.8% (429 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hurston appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (52.8%), White (37.6%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Hurston (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 Hurston mean?
A surname derived from an English place name, possibly referring to someone from Hurston, Derbyshire. 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 Hurston (0.27 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 Hurston?
See how many people are called Hurston on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.