2000
#6,620
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,715
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.75
Rare Last name
Liston
Derived from a place name meaning "at the enclosed settlement" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,945 Americans carry the last name Liston. That puts it at #7,453 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.44 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 69,313 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Liston surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Liston with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.9K
1 in 69,313
Census rank
#7,453
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,312 bearers of the surname Liston in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.44 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7453rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Liston, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Black (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Liston
The surname Liston originates from Scotland and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from a place name, likely originating from the Old English words "hlithe" meaning a slope or hill, and "tun" meaning a farm or settlement. The earliest recorded spelling of the name was found in the records of Lanarkshire, Scotland, in 1296, as "Walter de Liston."
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of landowners commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are several entries for places with similar names, such as "Listuna" and "Liston." These entries suggest that the name was already established in England before spreading to Scotland.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Liston was Sir Robert Liston (1742-1836), a British diplomat who served as the ambassador to the United States from 1796 to 1800. Another notable figure was Robert Liston (1794-1847), a Scottish surgeon who is considered one of the pioneers of modern surgery. He is credited with performing the first surgical operation using anesthesia in 1846.
In the 18th century, the Liston family were prominent landowners in Lanarkshire, Scotland. Their ancestral seat was Liston House, a historic estate that dates back to the 16th century. Sir William Liston (1672-1737) was a Scottish politician and judge who served as Lord Justice Clerk, one of the highest judicial offices in Scotland at the time.
During the American Revolutionary War, Sir Robert Liston (1742-1836), mentioned earlier, played a crucial role as a diplomatic envoy for the British government. He helped negotiate the Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation with the United States in 1794, which established trade relations between the two countries.
Another notable figure was Sir Ralph Liston (1785-1857), a British naval officer and diplomat who served as the Governor of the Ionian Islands (now part of Greece) from 1849 to 1851. He was instrumental in establishing British rule in the region and promoting economic and social reforms.
These are just a few examples of individuals with the surname Liston who have left their mark on history. The name has its roots in Scotland and has been associated with notable figures in diplomacy, medicine, politics, and the military over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Liston
Among Census respondents with the surname Liston, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Black (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Liston bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Liston surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.9% · 3,833
- Black or African American2.9% · 123
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 122
- Two or more races2.6% · 112
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 73
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 49
Timeline
Historical Census data for Liston
Liston appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#6,877
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,888
+173 bearers (+3.7%)
Per 100,000 1.66
Rank movement Down 257 places
2020
#7,453
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,312
-576 bearers (-11.8%)
Per 100,000 1.44
Rank movement Down 576 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,620 | 4,715 | 1.75 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,877 | 4,888 | 1.66 | +173 bearers (+3.7%) | Down 257 places |
| 2020 | #7,453 | 4,312 | 1.44 | -576 bearers (-11.8%) | Down 576 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Liston surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #6,877 | #7,453 | -8.4% |
| Count | 4,888 | 4,312 | -11.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.66 | 1.44 | -13.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Liston bearers went from 4,888 to 4,312 (-11.8% change). The surname moved down 576 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,877 to #7,453.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Liston
FAQ
Liston surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Liston?
Name Census estimates that about 4,945 living Americans carry the surname Liston. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 69,313 residents.
How common is Liston?
Liston ranks #7,453 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.44 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,312 people with the surname Liston. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,945), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.44 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.44 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Liston.
Has Liston become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Liston went from 4,888 recorded bearers to 4,312. That is a decrease of 576 (-11.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,877 to #7,453.
What does the Census say about the background of Liston?
Among Census respondents with the surname Liston, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Black (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Liston in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.9% (3,833 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Liston appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.9%), Black (2.9%), Hispanic (2.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Liston (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Liston mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "at the enclosed settlement" in Old English. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Liston (1.44 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Liston?
If you just want to know how common the surname Liston is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.