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

Austin, 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 Austin surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Austin in America

Austin is the 253rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Austin surname appeared 119,706 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 41 people would have the surname Austin.

We can also compare 2010 data for Austin 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.

The history of the last name Austin

The surname Austin originated in England and has Anglo-Saxon roots. It is derived from the male given name Augustine, which itself comes from the Roman name Augustinus. This was likely a name given to a child born during the month of August or born on the feast day of St. Augustine.

The oldest known recording of the surname Austin dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, compiled by order of William the Conqueror. Here, the name appears as "Austine" in various counties across England, indicating its widespread use at the time.

Over the centuries, the name took on various spellings such as Austyn, Austen, and Austan, reflecting the regional dialects and phonetic variations common during the Middle Ages. One notable early bearer of the name was Walter Austin (c. 1300-1370), a prominent English landowner and knight who served under Edward III during the Hundred Years' War.

The surname Austin has been associated with several place names in England, including Austinmere in Gloucestershire, which likely took its name from an early settler named Austin. The village of Austen in Yorkshire may also have derived its name from the same source.

Among the most famous historical figures bearing the surname Austin is Jane Austen (1775-1817), the renowned English novelist whose works, including "Pride and Prejudice" and "Sense and Sensibility," are considered literary classics. Other notable Austins include Samuel Austin (1633-1667), one of the founders of the Colony of North Carolina, and Moses Austin (1767-1821), an American entrepreneur and lead figure in the establishment of Anglo-American settlement in Spanish Texas.

In the realm of science and technology, Alfred Austin (1835-1913) was a notable English poet and critic who served as the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1896 to 1913. John Austin (1790-1859) was an influential British legal philosopher and jurist, known for his work on the philosophy of law and the concept of legal positivism.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Austin

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

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 Austin was:

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 Austin has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

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 Austin was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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