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

Featherstone, 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 Featherstone surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Featherstone in America

Featherstone is the 9976th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Featherstone surname appeared 3,234 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Featherstone.

We can also compare 2010 data for Featherstone 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 Featherstone

The surname Featherstone originates from England, specifically in Yorkshire. It dates back to the late 12th century, derived from the Old English words "feather" and "stan," meaning "feather stone" or "plume stone." This name likely referred to a place or landmark with a distinctive feather-shaped rock formation.

Featherstone is also a locational surname, referring to places called Featherstone in West Yorkshire and Staffordshire. These place names are recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Fredrestane" and "Ferdestan," respectively. The name's earliest recorded spelling is found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1176, where it appears as "Fredestane."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Featherstone is that of John de Fedrestan, who was mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Yorkshire in 1219. Another early bearer was William de Fedrestane, who was recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire in 1327.

Notable individuals with the surname Featherstone include Sir Thomas Featherstone (1547-1623), an English judge and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Northallerton. John Featherstone (1619-1677) was an English clergyman and author, best known for his book "The Christian Instructed in the Principles of the Christian Religion."

Christopher Featherstone (1642-1711) was a British colonial administrator who served as the 16th Governor of the Province of Maryland from 1706 to 1711. Sir Matthew Featherstone (1711-1785) was a British naval officer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of the Bahamas from 1758 to 1766.

Another notable figure was Richard Featherstone (1843-1919), an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club in the late 19th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Featherstone

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

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

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

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