2000
#5,232
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,127
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.27
Rare Last name
Marston
Derived from a place name meaning "marsh town" in Old English, referring to someone who lived in such a location.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,922 Americans carry the last name Marston. That puts it at #5,559 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.02 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 49,517 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Marston 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 Marston with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.9K
1 in 49,517
Census rank
#5,559
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,036 bearers of the surname Marston in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.02 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5559th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Marston, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Black (6.5%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marston
Among Census respondents with the surname Marston, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Black (6.5%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Marston 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 Marston surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.3% · 5,150
- Black or African American6.5% · 392
- Two or more races3.6% · 219
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 198
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 56
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 21
Timeline
Historical Census data for Marston
Marston 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
#5,329
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,535
+408 bearers (+6.7%)
Per 100,000 2.22
Rank movement Down 97 places
2020
#5,559
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,036
-499 bearers (-7.6%)
Per 100,000 2.02
Rank movement Down 230 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,232 | 6,127 | 2.27 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,329 | 6,535 | 2.22 | +408 bearers (+6.7%) | Down 97 places |
| 2020 | #5,559 | 6,036 | 2.02 | -499 bearers (-7.6%) | Down 230 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 Marston 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 | #5,329 | #5,559 | -4.3% |
| Count | 6,535 | 6,036 | -7.6% |
| Per 100K | 2.22 | 2.02 | -9.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Marston bearers went from 6,535 to 6,036 (-7.6% change). The surname moved down 230 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,329 to #5,559.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Marston
FAQ
Marston surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Marston?
Name Census estimates that about 6,922 living Americans carry the surname Marston. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 49,517 residents.
How common is Marston?
Marston ranks #5,559 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.02 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,036 people with the surname Marston. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,922), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.02 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.02 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Marston.
Has Marston become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Marston went from 6,535 recorded bearers to 6,036. That is a decrease of 499 (-7.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,329 to #5,559.
What does the Census say about the background of Marston?
Among Census respondents with the surname Marston, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Black (6.5%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Marston in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.3% (5,150 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Marston appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.3%), Black (6.5%), Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Marston (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 Marston mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "marsh town" in Old English, referring to someone who lived in such a location. 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 Marston (2.02 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 Americans have the surname Marston?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.