Cureton last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Cureton

An English occupational surname referring to a curator or guardian, derived from Old French and Latin.

Cureton, 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 Cureton surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cureton in America

Cureton is the 7504th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cureton surname appeared 4,437 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 Cureton.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cureton 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 7504 7190 4.27%
Count 4,437 4,281 3.58%
Proportion per 100k 1.50 1.59 -5.83%

The history of the last name Cureton

The surname Cureton has its origins in England, dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "curu" meaning "kernel" or "grain" and "tun" meaning "town" or "enclosure." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to a place where grain was stored or cultivated.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in various historical documents from the medieval period. One notable reference is in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where a John de Curetun is mentioned as residing in Oxfordshire.

During the 14th century, variations of the spelling emerged, including Cureton, Curton, and Curten. These variations likely reflected regional dialects and the evolving nature of written English at the time.

In the 16th century, the name appears in the Feet of Fines for Essex, which were records of land transactions. One entry from 1575 mentions a William Cureton of Hatfield Peverel.

Notable individuals bearing the surname Cureton throughout history include:

  1. Edward Cureton (1808-1898), an English scholar and Canon of Westminster Abbey, known for his work on ancient manuscripts and translations from Syriac and Arabic.

  2. William Cureton (1790-1846), an English botanist and curator of the Botanical Garden in Birmingham. He is credited with introducing several plant species to cultivation.

  3. Sir Robert Cureton (1859-1947), a British military officer who served in the Second Boer War and World War I. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and the Order of the Bath.

  4. George Cureton (1810-1889), an English civil engineer who contributed to the design and construction of several important railways in Britain.

  5. Thomas Cureton (c. 1590-1672), an English clergyman and writer who served as the Rector of Plumstead in Kent. He authored several religious works during his lifetime.

While the name Cureton is not among the most common surnames, its historical roots can be traced back to medieval England, where it likely originated as a place name associated with grain storage or cultivation.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cureton

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

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 Cureton was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 43.20% 1,917
Non-Hispanic Black Only 51.36% 2,279
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.27% 12
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.32% 14
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.73% 121
Hispanic Origin 2.12% 94

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 43.20% 45.32% -4.79%
Black 51.36% 50.81% 1.08%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.27% 0.35% -25.81%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.32% 0.35% -8.96%
Two or More Races 2.73% 1.85% 38.43%
Hispanic 2.12% 1.33% 45.80%

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

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

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"Cureton last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on July 27, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/cureton-surname-popularity/.

"Cureton last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/cureton-surname-popularity/. Accessed 27 July, 2024

Cureton last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/cureton-surname-popularity/.

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