2000
#1,406
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,155
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.58
Uncommon Last name
Post
An occupational surname referring to a messenger, courier, or gatekeeper.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 25,848 Americans carry the last name Post. That puts it at #1,557 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.54 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 13,260 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Post 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 Post with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
26K
1 in 13,260
Census rank
#1,557
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
23K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 22,541 bearers of the surname Post in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.54 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1557th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Post, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Post
The surname "Post" is of German and Dutch origin, originating in the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old High German word "bosta," meaning a post or pillar, which was often used to mark boundaries or to support structures.
The name first appeared in areas of what is now modern-day Germany and the Netherlands, particularly in the regions of Westphalia and Rhineland. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in medieval documents and records from these areas, dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries.
One of the earliest known references to the name "Post" is in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from the Kingdom of Saxony, which mentions a person named "Conrad Post" in a document dated 1282.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in the Liber Radicum, a register of landowners in the Duchy of Brabant (now part of Belgium and the Netherlands), where a person named "Henricus Post" was listed as a landowner in the village of Herentals in 1368.
During the 15th century, the name "Post" began to spread to other parts of Europe, particularly to England and Scotland, where it was sometimes anglicized to "Poste" or "Postle." One notable figure from this period was John Poste (c. 1470-1540), a medieval English scholar and author who wrote a famous treatise on logic.
In the 16th century, the name "Post" appeared in the records of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), which played a significant role in the colonization of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). One of the earliest recorded VOC employees with this surname was Adriaen Jacobsz Post (c. 1580-1650), who served as a ship's captain and explorer for the company.
Another notable figure from this period was Pieter Post (1608-1669), a Dutch architect and sculptor who is considered one of the key figures in the development of Dutch Classicism. He designed several notable buildings in the Netherlands, including the Mauritshuis in The Hague.
As the name spread across Europe and beyond, it was adopted by various families and individuals, some of whom became prominent in their respective fields. For example, Emily Post (1872-1960) was an American author and etiquette expert who wrote several influential books on manners and social conduct.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Post
Among Census respondents with the surname Post, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Post 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 Post surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.9% · 20,495
- Two or more races3.3% · 747
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 674
- Black or African American1.3% · 288
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 188
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 149
Timeline
Historical Census data for Post
Post 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
#1,530
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,458
+303 bearers (+1.3%)
Per 100,000 7.95
Rank movement Down 124 places
2020
#1,557
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,541
-917 bearers (-3.9%)
Per 100,000 7.54
Rank movement Down 27 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,406 | 23,155 | 8.58 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,530 | 23,458 | 7.95 | +303 bearers (+1.3%) | Down 124 places |
| 2020 | #1,557 | 22,541 | 7.54 | -917 bearers (-3.9%) | Down 27 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 Post 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 | #1,530 | #1,557 | -1.8% |
| Count | 23,458 | 22,541 | -3.9% |
| Per 100K | 7.95 | 7.54 | -5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Post bearers went from 23,458 to 22,541 (-3.9% change). The surname moved down 27 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,530 to #1,557.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Post
FAQ
Post surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Post?
Name Census estimates that about 25,848 living Americans carry the surname Post. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 13,260 residents.
How common is Post?
Post ranks #1,557 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.54 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 22,541 people with the surname Post. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (25,848), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.54 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.54 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Post.
Has Post become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Post went from 23,458 recorded bearers to 22,541. That is a decrease of 917 (-3.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,530 to #1,557.
What does the Census say about the background of Post?
Among Census respondents with the surname Post, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Post in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (20,495 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Post appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.9%), Two or More Races (3.3%), Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Post (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 Post mean?
An occupational surname referring to a messenger, courier, or gatekeeper. 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 Post (7.54 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 Post?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.