2000
#4,789
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,736
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.50
Rare Last name
Bankston
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "town on a hill" or "bean farm town" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,797 Americans carry the last name Bankston. That puts it at #5,004 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.27 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 43,960 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bankston 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.
Bearers in the US
7.8K
1 in 43,960
Census rank
#5,004
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,799 bearers of the surname Bankston in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.27 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5004th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bankston, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.6%. The next largest groups are Black (30.1%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bankston
Among Census respondents with the surname Bankston, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.6%. The next largest groups are Black (30.1%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Bankston 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 Bankston surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.6% · 4,118
- Black or African American30.1% · 2,049
- Two or more races4.9% · 336
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 228
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 32
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bankston
Bankston 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
#4,953
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,101
+365 bearers (+5.4%)
Per 100,000 2.41
Rank movement Down 164 places
2020
#5,004
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,799
-302 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 2.27
Rank movement Down 51 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,789 | 6,736 | 2.50 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,953 | 7,101 | 2.41 | +365 bearers (+5.4%) | Down 164 places |
| 2020 | #5,004 | 6,799 | 2.27 | -302 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 51 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 Bankston 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 | #4,953 | #5,004 | -1.0% |
| Count | 7,101 | 6,799 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.41 | 2.27 | -5.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bankston bearers went from 7,101 to 6,799 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 51 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,953 to #5,004.
FAQ
Bankston surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bankston?
Name Census estimates that about 7,797 living Americans carry the surname Bankston. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 43,960 residents.
How common is Bankston?
Bankston ranks #5,004 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.27 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,799 people with the surname Bankston. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,797), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.27 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.27 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Bankston.
Has Bankston become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bankston went from 7,101 recorded bearers to 6,799. That is a decrease of 302 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,953 to #5,004.
What does the Census say about the background of Bankston?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bankston, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.6%. The next largest groups are Black (30.1%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Bankston in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.6% (4,118 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bankston appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (60.6%), Black (30.1%), Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Bankston (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 Bankston mean?
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "town on a hill" or "bean farm town" 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 Bankston (2.27 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 have the surname Bankston?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.