2000
#3,193
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,292
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.82
Uncommon Last name
Poston
A locational surname referring to someone from a place called Poston, likely derived from Old English words for "post" and "town".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 11,153 Americans carry the last name Poston. That puts it at #3,576 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.25 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 30,732 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Poston 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 Poston with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 30,732
Census rank
#3,576
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.7K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,726 bearers of the surname Poston in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.25 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3576th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Poston, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.3%. The next largest groups are Black (11.0%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Poston
The surname Poston is an English habitation name derived from the place name Poston, a small village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The name is thought to originate from the Old English words "post" meaning a post or stake, and "tun" meaning an enclosure or settlement, suggesting it may have referred to a fenced or enclosed area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Poston can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire, a collection of financial records from the late 12th century, where a Robert de Poston is mentioned. Another early reference is found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which recorded landowners in England, listing a Thomas de Poston as a landowner in Yorkshire.
In the 16th century, the name appears in various spellings, including Pouston, Poustun, and Poustonne, reflecting the variations in pronunciation and spelling common during that period. One notable individual from this era was William Poston, born around 1520 in Yorkshire, who served as a member of the English Parliament.
Moving into the 17th century, the Poston family spread beyond Yorkshire, with records showing individuals with the surname in other parts of England. One such individual was John Poston, born in 1612 in Gloucestershire, who was a prominent merchant and landowner.
The 18th century saw the name gain further recognition, with the birth of William Poston in 1745 in Shropshire. He went on to become a renowned mathematician and astronomer, making significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics.
In the 19th century, the Poston name continued to be well-represented, with individuals such as James Poston (1800-1872), a successful industrialist from Lancashire, and Mary Poston (1832-1912), a celebrated novelist and poet from Yorkshire.
While the name Poston is not as common today as it once was, it remains a part of the rich tapestry of English surnames, with its origins rooted in the small village of Poston and the history of the Yorkshire region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Poston
Among Census respondents with the surname Poston, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.3%. The next largest groups are Black (11.0%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Poston 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 Poston surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.3% · 7,907
- Black or African American11.0% · 1,068
- Two or more races4.2% · 409
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 240
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 52
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 50
Timeline
Historical Census data for Poston
Poston 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
#3,434
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,396
+104 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 3.52
Rank movement Down 241 places
2020
#3,576
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,726
-670 bearers (-6.4%)
Per 100,000 3.25
Rank movement Down 142 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,193 | 10,292 | 3.82 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,434 | 10,396 | 3.52 | +104 bearers (+1.0%) | Down 241 places |
| 2020 | #3,576 | 9,726 | 3.25 | -670 bearers (-6.4%) | Down 142 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 Poston 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 | #3,434 | #3,576 | -4.1% |
| Count | 10,396 | 9,726 | -6.4% |
| Per 100K | 3.52 | 3.25 | -7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Poston bearers went from 10,396 to 9,726 (-6.4% change). The surname moved down 142 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,434 to #3,576.
FAQ
Poston surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Poston?
Name Census estimates that about 11,153 living Americans carry the surname Poston. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 30,732 residents.
How common is Poston?
Poston ranks #3,576 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.25 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,726 people with the surname Poston. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (11,153), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.25 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.25 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Poston.
Has Poston become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Poston went from 10,396 recorded bearers to 9,726. That is a decrease of 670 (-6.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,434 to #3,576.
What does the Census say about the background of Poston?
Among Census respondents with the surname Poston, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.3%. The next largest groups are Black (11.0%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Poston in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.3% (7,907 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Poston appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.3%), Black (11.0%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Poston (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 Poston mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from a place called Poston, likely derived from Old English words for "post" and "town". 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 Poston (3.25 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 Poston?
Want to know how common the surname Poston is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.