2000
#681
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 45,850
First available Census row
Per 100,000 17.00
Uncommon Last name
Preston
A habitational surname derived from any of the places in England named Preston, meaning "priest's town" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 51,667 Americans carry the last name Preston. That puts it at #753 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 15.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 6,634 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Preston 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 Preston with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
52K
1 in 6,634
Census rank
#753
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
15.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
45K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 45,056 bearers of the surname Preston in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 15.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 753rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Preston, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.1%. The next largest groups are Black (19.8%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Preston
The surname Preston is of English origin and dates back to the 11th century. It is a locational surname derived from the Old English words "preost" meaning priest and "tun" meaning town or settlement. The name refers to a town or village where a priest resided.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Prestune" and "Presteton." This suggests that the name was already well-established in various parts of England by the late 11th century.
During the medieval period, the name was associated with various locations across England, such as Preston in Lancashire, Preston in Dorset, and Preston in Suffolk. The spelling variations included Preestone, Prestun, and Prestone.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Preston was William de Preston, who lived in the 13th century and served as the Sheriff of Northamptonshire in 1274.
In the 14th century, the name appears in the records of the Hundred Rolls, with individuals such as Richard de Preston and John de Preston being mentioned.
Sir Thomas Preston (1537-1598) was a notable figure in the Tudor era. He was a member of Parliament and served as the Lord President of the Council of the North during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
Another prominent individual was Thomas Preston (1585-1653), a Benedictine monk and writer who published works on philosophy and theology during the early 17th century.
In the 18th century, William Preston (1742-1818) was a renowned English author and educator who played a significant role in the development of Freemasonry. He wrote several influential works on the subject, including "Illustrations of Masonry."
During the American Revolutionary War, John Preston (1744-1824) was a prominent military leader who served as a colonel in the Continental Army and fought in several key battles, including the Battle of Monmouth.
The name Preston has been associated with various notable figures throughout history, reflecting its long-standing presence and significance across different regions and time periods.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Preston
Among Census respondents with the surname Preston, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.1%. The next largest groups are Black (19.8%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Preston 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 Preston surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.1% · 32,026
- Black or African American19.8% · 8,917
- Two or more races4.1% · 1,846
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 1,502
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 409
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 356
Timeline
Historical Census data for Preston
Preston 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
#736
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 47,367
+1,517 bearers (+3.3%)
Per 100,000 16.06
Rank movement Down 55 places
2020
#753
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 45,056
-2,311 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 15.07
Rank movement Down 17 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #681 | 45,850 | 17.00 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #736 | 47,367 | 16.06 | +1,517 bearers (+3.3%) | Down 55 places |
| 2020 | #753 | 45,056 | 15.07 | -2,311 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 17 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 Preston 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 | #736 | #753 | -2.3% |
| Count | 47,367 | 45,056 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 16.06 | 15.07 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Preston bearers went from 47,367 to 45,056 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 17 positions in the national ranking, going from #736 to #753.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Preston
FAQ
Preston surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Preston?
Name Census estimates that about 51,667 living Americans carry the surname Preston. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 6,634 residents.
How common is Preston?
Preston ranks #753 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 15.07 per 100,000 residents, which is about 15 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 45,056 people with the surname Preston. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (51,667), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 15.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 15.07 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 15 of them to have the surname Preston.
Has Preston become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Preston went from 47,367 recorded bearers to 45,056. That is a decrease of 2,311 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #736 to #753.
What does the Census say about the background of Preston?
Among Census respondents with the surname Preston, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.1%. The next largest groups are Black (19.8%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Preston in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.1% (32,026 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Preston appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (71.1%), Black (19.8%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Preston (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 Preston mean?
A habitational surname derived from any of the places in England named Preston, meaning "priest's town" in Old English. 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 Preston (15.07 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 Preston?
See how many people have the last name Preston on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.