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

Bannister, 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 Bannister surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bannister in America

Bannister is the 4105th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bannister surname appeared 8,639 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Bannister.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bannister 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 Bannister

The surname Bannister has its origins in England, tracing back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old French word "banastre," which referred to a basket maker or merchant of baskets. The name's earliest recorded spelling was "le Banastre" in the Suffolk Rolls of 1275.

In medieval times, surnames often arose from occupations, and Bannister would have been given to an individual or family involved in the basket-making trade. As the name evolved, it took on various spellings such as Banaster, Banestre, and eventually the modern form Bannister.

One of the earliest known references to the name Bannister can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1279, where a Robert le Banastre is mentioned. The Hundred Rolls were administrative records compiled during the reign of King Edward I.

The Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners and tenants commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, does not contain the surname Bannister. However, it is likely that the name's origins can be traced back to the Norman conquest of England in the 11th century, when many French words and names were introduced into the English language.

One notable figure bearing the name Bannister was Sir John Bannister (1539-1630), a wealthy English merchant and Member of Parliament who served as Lord Mayor of London from 1587 to 1588. Another was the English actor and playwright John Bannister (1760-1836), renowned for his comic roles on the London stage.

In the 19th century, the Bannister surname gained further prominence with the achievements of Sir Roger Bannister (1929-2018), the English athlete who became the first person to run a sub-four-minute mile in 1954, setting a new world record of 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds.

Other noteworthy individuals with the surname Bannister include the English cricketer Sir Charles Bannister (1851-1919), who captained the English national cricket team, and the American actress Anne Bannister (1924-2006), known for her roles in television series such as "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Gunsmoke."

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bannister

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

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

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

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