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

Bankston, 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 Bankston surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bankston in America

Bankston is the 4953rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bankston surname appeared 7,101 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Bankston.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bankston 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 Bankston

The surname Bankston is believed to have originated in England, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is thought to be a locational name derived from the hamlet of Bankston, located in the county of Yorkshire. This place name is derived from the Old English words "banc" meaning bank or ridge, and "tun" meaning an enclosed settlement or farm.

One of the earliest known references to the name Bankston can be found in the Lancashire Parish Records of 1592, which mention a Thomas Bankston. In the Hearth Tax Rolls of 1674, a John Bankston is listed as a resident of the village of Bankston in Yorkshire.

The Bankston name appears to have spread across various regions of England over the centuries. In the 1841 Census, there are records of Bankstons living in Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Lincolnshire. Notable individuals with this surname include William Bankston (1745-1812), a prominent merchant and landowner in Nottinghamshire, and Mary Bankston (1789-1867), a philanthropist from Yorkshire who donated funds for the construction of a local school.

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, some Bankston families emigrated from England to North America, settling in various regions of the United States and Canada. One such individual was John Bankston (1782-1856), who arrived in Virginia from Yorkshire in 1805 and later moved to Tennessee, where he established a successful farming operation.

Another notable figure was Samuel Bankston (1810-1892), a farmer and businessman from South Carolina who played a significant role in the development of the textile industry in the region. In Canada, the Bankston name can be traced back to James Bankston (1820-1901), a carpenter from Lincolnshire who settled in Ontario in the mid-19th century.

While the Bankston surname is relatively uncommon today, it has a rich history that spans centuries and continents, with roots firmly planted in the rural communities of northern England.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bankston

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

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

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

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