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

Cushing, 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 Cushing surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cushing in America

Cushing is the 5373rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cushing surname appeared 6,480 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 Cushing.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cushing 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 Cushing

The surname Cushing is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "cusce," meaning a rush or sedge plant. It likely originated as a toponymic surname, referring to someone who lived near a patch of rushes or sedge.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the late 12th century in various English counties, including Norfolk, Suffolk, and Hertfordshire. It appears in the Pipe Rolls of Norfolk in 1199 as "William Cussinc." The name also appears in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 as "Roger Cusshing" in Norfolk.

In the 14th century, the surname was found in various spellings, such as Cusshyng, Cusshyngge, and Cusshinge, reflecting the regional variations in pronunciation and spelling during that time. One notable early bearer of the name was John Cushing, a Member of Parliament for Somerset in 1326.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name continued to spread across England, with several notable individuals emerging. One of the earliest was Peter Cushing (1532-1612), a merchant and benefactor from Hingham, Norfolk. Another was Thomas Cushing (1595-1679), who emigrated from Norfolk to Massachusetts Bay Colony and became a prominent figure in the early colonial period.

In the 18th century, William Cushing (1732-1810) was a prominent American jurist and judge who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. His brother, Thomas Cushing (1725-1788), was a merchant and politician who served as the second Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts.

The 19th century saw the rise of several distinguished individuals with the Cushing surname, including Caleb Cushing (1800-1879), an American diplomat and Attorney General under President Franklin Pierce, and Frank Hamilton Cushing (1857-1900), an American anthropologist and ethnologist known for his pioneering work in the American Southwest.

Other notable bearers of the Cushing surname include Harvey Williams Cushing (1869-1939), a pioneering American neurosurgeon often referred to as the "Father of Modern Neurosurgery," and Peter Cushing (1913-1994), an English actor best known for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Grand Moff Tarkin in the Star Wars franchise.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cushing

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

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

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

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