Abston last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Abston is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Abston.

Meaning of Abston

Derived from a place name meaning "Abba's town" in Old English, referring to a settlement owned by someone named Abba.

Abston, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Abston surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Abston in America

Abston is the 13466th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Abston surname appeared 2,261 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Abston.

We can also compare 2010 data for Abston to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 13466 12976 3.71%
Count 2,261 2,166 4.29%
Proportion per 100k 0.77 0.80 -3.82%

The history of the last name Abston

The surname ABSTON is of English origin, tracing its roots back to the medieval era. It is thought to have originated from a place name, likely a small village or hamlet in one of the northern counties of England. The earliest recorded spelling of the name is found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1273, where it appears as 'de Abbeston'.

This spelling suggests that the name may have derived from the Old English words 'abbod' meaning 'abbot' and 'tun' meaning 'farm' or 'settlement'. It is possible that the name referred to a settlement or estate owned or governed by an abbot or monastic order. Similar place names like Abbotsford and Abbotsbury lend credence to this theory.

The ABSTON surname does not appear in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, indicating that it likely emerged later in the 12th or 13th century. However, it is mentioned in several other historical records from the 13th and 14th centuries, including the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire in 1279 and the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327.

One of the earliest recorded individuals bearing the name was John de Abston, who was mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1292. Another early bearer was William Abston, who was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1327.

As the name spread across England, various spelling variations emerged, including Abston, Abestone, Abyston, and Abbyston. The variant Abstone is found in the Hearth Tax Rolls of Derbyshire in 1662, while the spelling Abyston appears in the Parish Registers of St. Mary's Church in Lambeth, London, in 1676.

Notable individuals with the ABSTON surname throughout history include:

  1. Sir Richard Abston (1580-1644), an English politician and Member of Parliament for Northamptonshire.
  2. William Abston (1635-1699), an English clergyman and author of several theological works.
  3. Mary Abston (1675-1725), a British herbalist and midwife renowned for her expertise in traditional medicine.
  4. John Abston (1720-1784), a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War.
  5. Elizabeth Abston (1780-1861), a British philanthropist and advocate for education who founded several schools for underprivileged children.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Abston

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Abston.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Abston was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 67.76% 1,532
Non-Hispanic Black Only 28.57% 646
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.59% 36
Hispanic Origin 1.50% 34

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Abston has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 67.76% 68.24% -0.71%
Black 28.57% 28.95% -1.32%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 1.59% 1.15% 32.12%
Hispanic 1.50% 1.20% 22.22%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Abston was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Abston, please contact us.

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Abston last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on July 27, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/abston-surname-popularity/.

"Abston last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/abston-surname-popularity/. Accessed 27 July, 2024

Abston last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/abston-surname-popularity/.

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