2000
#1,605
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,537
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.61
Uncommon Last name
Winston
Derived from an English place name meaning "joyful stone," or from a nickname meaning "joyful friend."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 23,727 Americans carry the last name Winston. That puts it at #1,697 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.92 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 14,446 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Winston 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 Winston with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
24K
1 in 14,446
Census rank
#1,697
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
21K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 20,691 bearers of the surname Winston in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.92 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1697th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Winston, the largest self-reported group is Black at 59.7%. The next largest groups are White (29.3%) and Two or More Races (6.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Winston
The surname WINSTON has its origins in England, dating back to the Anglo-Saxon period around the 5th to 11th centuries. It is believed to be a locational name derived from the Old English words "wine" meaning "friend" and "tun" meaning "farm" or "settlement". The name likely referred to someone who lived near a vineyard or wine farm.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Winestun" and "Winestuna". These entries refer to various places in different counties across England, suggesting the name was already established in various regions during the Norman conquest.
In the 13th century, the name appeared in various forms such as "Wyneston", "Wynston", and "Winstonley" in records from counties like Gloucestershire, Shropshire, and Staffordshire. These variations indicate the name's evolution over time and its adaptation to different local dialects.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname WINSTON was John de Winston, who was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1203. Another notable early bearer of the name was Sir William Winston, a member of Parliament for Gloucestershire in 1388.
The WINSTON surname has been associated with several notable historical figures, including Sir Henry Winston (1616-1688), a prominent English lawyer and politician who served as Speaker of the House of Commons during the reign of Charles II. Another influential figure was Thomas Winston (1575-1624), a renowned English mathematician and writer who published works on mathematics, logic, and natural philosophy.
In the 18th century, the WINSTON family gained prominence with the birth of Richard Winston (1744-1815), a successful merchant and plantation owner in Virginia, United States. His descendants included several influential figures, including Frederick Winston (1776-1837), a prominent lawyer and judge, and Isaac Winston (1789-1867), a respected Baptist minister and educator.
One of the most famous bearers of the WINSTON surname was Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965), the British statesman, orator, and two-time Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a pivotal role in leading the Allied forces to victory during World War II and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Winston
Among Census respondents with the surname Winston, the largest self-reported group is Black at 59.7%. The next largest groups are White (29.3%) and Two or More Races (6.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Winston 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 Winston surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American59.7% · 12,358
- White29.3% · 6,069
- Two or more races6.2% · 1,285
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 717
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 187
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 75
Timeline
Historical Census data for Winston
Winston 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
#1,662
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,667
+1,130 bearers (+5.5%)
Per 100,000 7.35
Rank movement Down 57 places
2020
#1,697
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,691
-976 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 6.92
Rank movement Down 35 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,605 | 20,537 | 7.61 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,662 | 21,667 | 7.35 | +1,130 bearers (+5.5%) | Down 57 places |
| 2020 | #1,697 | 20,691 | 6.92 | -976 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 35 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 Winston 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 | #1,662 | #1,697 | -2.1% |
| Count | 21,667 | 20,691 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 7.35 | 6.92 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Winston bearers went from 21,667 to 20,691 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 35 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,662 to #1,697.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Winston
FAQ
Winston surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Winston?
Name Census estimates that about 23,727 living Americans carry the surname Winston. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 14,446 residents.
How common is Winston?
Winston ranks #1,697 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.92 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 20,691 people with the surname Winston. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (23,727), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.92 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.92 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Winston.
Has Winston become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Winston went from 21,667 recorded bearers to 20,691. That is a decrease of 976 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,662 to #1,697.
What does the Census say about the background of Winston?
Among Census respondents with the surname Winston, the largest self-reported group is Black at 59.7%. The next largest groups are White (29.3%) and Two or More Races (6.2%). 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 Winston in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.7% (12,358 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Winston appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (59.7%), White (29.3%), Two or More Races (6.2%). 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 Winston (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 Winston mean?
Derived from an English place name meaning "joyful stone," or from a nickname meaning "joyful friend." 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 Winston (6.92 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 Americans have the surname Winston?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.