Bankston
A masculine given name of English origin indicating someone from a town or village.
Name Census estimates that about 144 living Americans carry the first name Bankston. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Bankston today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bankston births was 2024 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bankston. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
144
~ 1 in 2,380,238 Americans
Peak year
2024
25 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,193
Tracked since 2002
Popularity
Bankston: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bankston from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 85 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bankston by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Bankston during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Bankstons live
Origin
Meaning and history of Bankston
The name Bankston is an English surname that has its origins in the county of Lancashire, England. It is derived from the Old English words "banke" and "stun," which together mean "bank stone" or "stone by the bank." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who lived near a river bank or a rocky outcrop.
The earliest recorded use of the name Bankston dates back to the 13th century, when it appeared in the Pipe Rolls of Lancashire in 1246 as "Bankestun." This indicates that the name was already in use as a surname during the Middle Ages.
While there are no known historical references to the name Bankston in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is believed to have been a relatively common surname in certain parts of England, particularly in the northwest regions.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Bankston was John Bankston, who was born in Lancashire in the late 15th century. He was a landowner and farmer who lived in the village of Bankston near the River Ribble.
Another notable figure with the name Bankston was Sir William Bankston (1562-1638), a English merchant and member of the East India Company. He played a significant role in establishing trade routes between England and India during the early years of British colonization.
In the 17th century, the name Bankston appeared in the records of the Virginia Colony in North America. One of the earliest settlers with this name was Thomas Bankston (1620-1678), who arrived in Jamestown in 1642 and became a prominent landowner and tobacco planter.
During the American Revolution, Captain James Bankston (1745-1823) served in the Continental Army and fought in several major battles, including the Battle of Monmouth in 1778.
In the 19th century, Emily Bankston (1819-1892) was a pioneering educator and women's rights advocate from Kentucky. She founded one of the first schools for women in the state and campaigned tirelessly for equal educational opportunities for girls and women.
While the name Bankston is not as common as it once was, it still holds a place in history as a surname with deep roots in English and American heritage.
People
Bankston + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bankston as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Bankston: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bankston?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 144 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bankston going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,380,238 US residents.
Is Bankston a common name?
We classify Bankston as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 145 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bankston most popular?
The single biggest year for Bankston was 2024, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bankston is about 7 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Bankston in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bankston a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bankston in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Bankston still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bankston in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Bankston can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Bankston?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.