2000
#5,035
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,395
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.37
Rare Last name
Kingston
A locational surname referring to someone from the town of Kingston in England, meaning "the king's town."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,782 Americans carry the last name Kingston. That puts it at #5,012 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.27 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 44,045 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kingston 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 Kingston with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.8K
1 in 44,045
Census rank
#5,012
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,786 bearers of the surname Kingston in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.27 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5012th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kingston, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.6%. The next largest groups are Black (10.0%) and Hispanic (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kingston
The surname Kingston has its origins in England, dating back to the medieval period. It is a locational name derived from the Old English words "cyning" meaning king and "tun" meaning town or settlement. This suggests that the name originally referred to someone who lived in a town or village associated with a king or royal figure.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in various historical documents from the 13th and 14th centuries. For example, the Hundred Rolls of 1273 mentions a John de Kyngeston in Wiltshire, while the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in 1275 reference a Robert de Kyngeston.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive record of landowners and estates in England commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are several entries for places with names similar to Kingston, such as "Chingestone" in Hampshire and "Chingestune" in Wiltshire. These place names likely served as the basis for the surname Kingston.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Kingston was Sir William Kingston (c. 1476-1540), an English courtier and Constable of the Tower of London during the reign of King Henry VIII. He played a significant role in the downfall of Anne Boleyn, Henry's second wife.
Another notable figure was Sir John Kingston (c. 1585-1638), an English colonist and sea captain who helped establish the first permanent English settlement in Barbados in the 17th century. He was appointed as the first governor of the colony in 1625.
In the realm of literature, Rachel Kingston (1818-1871) was a notable English novelist and writer of children's stories in the Victorian era. Her works included "The Golden Meadows" and "The Marquis of Trevellyan."
Sir Armine Woodhouse Kingston (1887-1956) was a British Army officer who served in World War I and later became a notable author of adventure stories for children, publishing over 200 books during his lifetime.
Lastly, Maxine Hong Kingston (born 1940) is an American author and professor who has gained recognition for her works exploring the experiences of Chinese Americans, including her acclaimed memoir "The Woman Warrior."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kingston
Among Census respondents with the surname Kingston, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.6%. The next largest groups are Black (10.0%) and Hispanic (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Kingston 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 Kingston surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.6% · 5,534
- Black or African American10.0% · 679
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 265
- Two or more races3.0% · 203
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 79
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 26
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kingston
Kingston 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
#4,998
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,033
+638 bearers (+10.0%)
Per 100,000 2.38
Rank movement Up 37 places
2020
#5,012
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,786
-247 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 2.27
Rank movement Down 14 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,035 | 6,395 | 2.37 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,998 | 7,033 | 2.38 | +638 bearers (+10.0%) | Up 37 places |
| 2020 | #5,012 | 6,786 | 2.27 | -247 bearers (-3.5%) | Down 14 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 Kingston 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 | #4,998 | #5,012 | -0.3% |
| Count | 7,033 | 6,786 | -3.5% |
| Per 100K | 2.38 | 2.27 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kingston bearers went from 7,033 to 6,786 (-3.5% change). The surname moved down 14 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,998 to #5,012.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Kingston
FAQ
Kingston surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kingston?
Name Census estimates that about 7,782 living Americans carry the surname Kingston. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 44,045 residents.
How common is Kingston?
Kingston ranks #5,012 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.27 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,786 people with the surname Kingston. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,782), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.27 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.27 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Kingston.
Has Kingston become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kingston went from 7,033 recorded bearers to 6,786. That is a decrease of 247 (-3.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,998 to #5,012.
What does the Census say about the background of Kingston?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kingston, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.6%. The next largest groups are Black (10.0%) and Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Kingston in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.6% (5,534 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kingston appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.6%), Black (10.0%), Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Kingston (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 Kingston mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from the town of Kingston in England, meaning "the king's town." 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 Kingston (2.27 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 common is the surname Kingston?
For a quick modern take, check how common the surname Kingston is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.