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

Flint, 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 Flint surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Flint in America

Flint is the 2399th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Flint surname appeared 15,123 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname Flint.

We can also compare 2010 data for Flint 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 Flint

The surname FLINT originated in England and dates back to the 12th century. It is a locational surname derived from various places in England called Flint, such as the town of Flint in Flintshire, Wales. The name Flint comes from the Old English word "flint," referring to the hard rock found in chalky areas.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, the earliest known record of the surname, it appears as "de Flint," indicating a person from the town of Flint. The name was also recorded as "de Flynt" and "de Flyntesham" in early records.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname FLINT was William de Flint, a landowner in Flintshire mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of 1199. Another early bearer was John de Flint, a cleric and royal clerk who served under King Edward I in the late 13th century.

During the 14th century, the FLINT surname spread across England, with families residing in counties like Shropshire, Staffordshire, and Warwickshire. Sir William Flint (1330-1405) was a notable knight and landowner from Flintshire.

In the 15th century, the surname FLINT appeared in various spellings, such as Flynt, Flinte, and Flyntesham. Robert Flint (1450-1520) was a prominent merchant and alderman in the City of London during this period.

The FLINT surname continued to be well-represented in England throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. Notable individuals included Sir Thomas Flint (1548-1617), a Member of Parliament and landowner in Worcestershire, and Henry Flint (1615-1675), a Puritan minister and author.

In the 18th century, the FLINT surname was associated with several notable figures, such as William Flint (1720-1785), a British naval officer and explorer, and John Flint (1755-1825), a Scottish mathematician and astronomer.

During the 19th century, the surname FLINT continued to be prominent in various fields. Austin Flint (1812-1886) was an American physician and medical writer, while Timothy Flint (1780-1840) was an author, missionary, and educator who wrote extensively about the American West.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Flint

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!