2000
#1,995
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,686
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.19
Uncommon Last name
Prescott
An English habitational surname derived from places meaning "priest's cottage."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 18,859 Americans carry the last name Prescott. That puts it at #2,151 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.50 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 18,175 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Prescott 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 Prescott with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
19K
1 in 18,175
Census rank
#2,151
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
16K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 16,446 bearers of the surname Prescott in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.50 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2151st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Prescott, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.7%. The next largest groups are Black (13.8%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Prescott
The surname Prescott originated in England, and it can be traced back to the 12th century. The name is derived from the Old English words "preost" and "cot," which together mean "priest's cottage" or "priest's dwelling."
It is believed that the name was initially used to refer to a residence near a church or a small house occupied by a priest. Over time, it became a hereditary surname for families living in such dwellings or associated with the clergy.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Prescott can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire from 1196, where it appears as "de Prestecote." This reference suggests that the name was already in use as a locational surname by the late 12th century.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, there are several mentions of places with similar names, such as "Prestecote" in Shropshire and "Prestecota" in Warwickshire, which may have been the original locations from which the surname derived.
Notable individuals with the surname Prescott throughout history include:
1. Sir Robert Prescott (c. 1590-1615), an English merchant and sea captain who voyaged to the West Indies and wrote accounts of his travels.
2. Oliver Prescott (1731-1804), an American physician and soldier who served as a brigadier general during the American Revolutionary War.
3. William Hickling Prescott (1796-1859), an American historian and writer best known for his works on the Spanish Empire, including "The History of the Conquest of Mexico."
4. Benjamin Prescott (1773-1829), an English lawyer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for several constituencies in the early 19th century.
5. William Prescott (1726-1795), an American colonel who commanded patriot forces during the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War.
The surname Prescott has been associated with various places throughout England, such as Prescot in Merseyside, which was once spelled "Prestecote," and Prescott in Gloucestershire, known as "Prestcote" in the 13th century. These place names further reinforce the locational origins of the surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Prescott
Among Census respondents with the surname Prescott, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.7%. The next largest groups are Black (13.8%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Prescott 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 Prescott surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.7% · 12,444
- Black or African American13.8% · 2,271
- Two or more races4.3% · 705
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 676
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 198
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 152
Timeline
Historical Census data for Prescott
Prescott 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
#2,134
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,975
+289 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 5.75
Rank movement Down 139 places
2020
#2,151
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,446
-529 bearers (-3.1%)
Per 100,000 5.50
Rank movement Down 17 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,995 | 16,686 | 6.19 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,134 | 16,975 | 5.75 | +289 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 139 places |
| 2020 | #2,151 | 16,446 | 5.50 | -529 bearers (-3.1%) | Down 17 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 Prescott 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 | #2,134 | #2,151 | -0.8% |
| Count | 16,975 | 16,446 | -3.1% |
| Per 100K | 5.75 | 5.50 | -4.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Prescott bearers went from 16,975 to 16,446 (-3.1% change). The surname moved down 17 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,134 to #2,151.
FAQ
Prescott surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Prescott?
Name Census estimates that about 18,859 living Americans carry the surname Prescott. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 18,175 residents.
How common is Prescott?
Prescott ranks #2,151 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.50 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 16,446 people with the surname Prescott. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (18,859), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.5 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.50 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Prescott.
Has Prescott become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Prescott went from 16,975 recorded bearers to 16,446. That is a decrease of 529 (-3.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,134 to #2,151.
What does the Census say about the background of Prescott?
Among Census respondents with the surname Prescott, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.7%. The next largest groups are Black (13.8%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Prescott in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.7% (12,444 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Prescott appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.7%), Black (13.8%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Prescott (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 Prescott mean?
An English habitational surname derived from places meaning "priest's cottage." 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 Prescott (5.50 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 share the surname Prescott?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.