2000
#241
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113,160
First available Census row
Per 100,000 41.95
Common Last name
Austin
An English surname derived from a place name meaning "magnificent" or "great" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130,393 Americans carry the last name Austin. That puts it at #270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 38.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,629 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Austin 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 Austin with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
130K
1 in 2,629
Census rank
#270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
38.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 113,709 bearers of the surname Austin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 38.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Austin, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.6%. The next largest groups are Black (25.5%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Austin
Among Census respondents with the surname Austin, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.6%. The next largest groups are Black (25.5%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Austin 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 Austin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.6% · 73,477
- Black or African American25.5% · 28,976
- Two or more races4.7% · 5,355
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 4,195
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 871
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 835
Timeline
Historical Census data for Austin
Austin 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
#253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119,706
+6,546 bearers (+5.8%)
Per 100,000 40.58
Rank movement Down 12 places
2020
#270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113,709
-5,997 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 38.04
Rank movement Down 17 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #241 | 113,160 | 41.95 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #253 | 119,706 | 40.58 | +6,546 bearers (+5.8%) | Down 12 places |
| 2020 | #270 | 113,709 | 38.04 | -5,997 bearers (-5.0%) | 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 Austin 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 | #253 | #270 | -6.7% |
| Count | 119,706 | 113,709 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 40.58 | 38.04 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Austin bearers went from 119,706 to 113,709 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 17 positions in the national ranking, going from #253 to #270.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Austin
FAQ
Austin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Austin?
Name Census estimates that about 130,393 living Americans carry the surname Austin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,629 residents.
How common is Austin?
Austin ranks #270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 38.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 38 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 113,709 people with the surname Austin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (130,393), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 38.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 38.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 38 of them to have the surname Austin.
Has Austin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Austin went from 119,706 recorded bearers to 113,709. That is a decrease of 5,997 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #253 to #270.
What does the Census say about the background of Austin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Austin, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.6%. The next largest groups are Black (25.5%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Austin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.6% (73,477 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Austin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (64.6%), Black (25.5%), Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Austin (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 Austin mean?
An English surname derived from a place name meaning "magnificent" or "great" 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 Austin (38.04 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 people share the surname Austin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.