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

Post, 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 Post surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Post in America

Post is the 1530th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Post surname appeared 23,458 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 8 people would have the surname Post.

We can also compare 2010 data for Post 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 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One of the earliest known references to the name "Post" is in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from the Kingdom of Saxony, which mentions a person named "Conrad Post" in a document dated 1282.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.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Post

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

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

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

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