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

Marston, 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 Marston surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Marston in America

Marston is the 5329th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Marston surname appeared 6,535 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 Marston.

We can also compare 2010 data for Marston 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 Marston

The surname Marston is of English origin, derived from a place name. It is believed to have originated in the medieval era, around the 12th or 13th century. The name is a locational surname, referring to someone who hailed from a town or village called Marston.

There are several places in England named Marston, and the surname could have originated from any of these locations. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions Marston in various counties, including Lincolnshire, Gloucestershire, and Staffordshire.

The name Marston is derived from the Old English words "mere" meaning "a pool or lake" and "tun" meaning "a farm or settlement." This suggests that the original place named Marston was likely situated near a pool or lake, lending credence to the theory that the surname originated from a place name.

One of the earliest known bearers of the surname Marston was John de Marston, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1199. Another early reference can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which recorded a Richard de Merston in Oxfordshire.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Marston. These include:

1. John Marston (c. 1576-1634), an English playwright and satirist during the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras.
2. Philip Bourke Marston (1850-1887), an English poet and literary critic, best known for his sonnet sequences.
3. John Westland Marston (1819-1890), an English dramatist and novelist, who wrote plays and novels in the Victorian era.
4. John Marston (1836-1914), an English prelate who served as the Bishop of Pandera from 1888 to 1909.
5. Charles Marston (1890-1979), an American writer and creator of the comic book character Wonder Woman.

While the surname Marston has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and Australia, due to migration and immigration patterns over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Marston

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

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

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

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