2000
#4,286
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,658
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.84
Rare Last name
Royster
An English occupational surname for a maker or seller of roast meat or a keeper of an alehouse.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,688 Americans carry the last name Royster. That puts it at #4,547 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.53 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 39,451 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Royster 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.
Bearers in the US
8.7K
1 in 39,451
Census rank
#4,547
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,576 bearers of the surname Royster in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.53 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4547th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Royster, the largest self-reported group is Black at 57.9%. The next largest groups are White (33.3%) and Two or More Races (5.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Royster
The surname Royster has its roots in England, with origins dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "roistre," meaning a wanderer or vagabond. The name likely originated as a descriptive term for someone who led a nomadic or wandering lifestyle.
In the Hundred Rolls of 1273, one of the earliest records of English surnames, there are references to individuals with the surname Royster or similar spellings, such as Roister or Royster. These records suggest that the name was already established in various parts of England during this period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Royster can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1301, where a Thomas Royster is mentioned. This indicates that the name was present in the county of Gloucestershire in the early 14th century.
During the 15th century, the surname Royster appeared in various historical records, including the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1428, where a John Royster is mentioned. This suggests that the name had spread to other regions of England by this time.
Notable individuals bearing the surname Royster throughout history include:
1. Sir John Royster (c. 1450 - 1521), a prominent English merchant and politician who served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1509.
2. William Royster (1568 - 1642), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Master of St. John's College, Cambridge, from 1625 until his death.
3. Edward Royster (1670 - 1737), an English colonist who settled in Virginia, United States, in the late 17th century and became a prominent landowner and planter.
4. Mary Royster (1795 - 1875), an American educator and philanthropist who founded one of the first schools for girls in North Carolina.
5. Vermont Royster (1914 - 1996), an American journalist and editor who received the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing in 1953 for his work at the Wall Street Journal.
The surname Royster has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Royster Park in Kent and Royster's Green in Hertfordshire, further indicating the long-standing presence of the name in different regions of the country.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Royster
Among Census respondents with the surname Royster, the largest self-reported group is Black at 57.9%. The next largest groups are White (33.3%) and Two or More Races (5.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Royster 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 Royster surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American57.9% · 4,387
- White33.3% · 2,522
- Two or more races5.3% · 403
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 203
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 43
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 18
Timeline
Historical Census data for Royster
Royster 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
#4,409
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,056
+398 bearers (+5.2%)
Per 100,000 2.73
Rank movement Down 123 places
2020
#4,547
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,576
-480 bearers (-6.0%)
Per 100,000 2.53
Rank movement Down 138 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,286 | 7,658 | 2.84 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,409 | 8,056 | 2.73 | +398 bearers (+5.2%) | Down 123 places |
| 2020 | #4,547 | 7,576 | 2.53 | -480 bearers (-6.0%) | Down 138 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 Royster 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 | #4,409 | #4,547 | -3.1% |
| Count | 8,056 | 7,576 | -6.0% |
| Per 100K | 2.73 | 2.53 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Royster bearers went from 8,056 to 7,576 (-6.0% change). The surname moved down 138 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,409 to #4,547.
FAQ
Royster surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Royster?
Name Census estimates that about 8,688 living Americans carry the surname Royster. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 39,451 residents.
How common is Royster?
Royster ranks #4,547 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.53 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 7,576 people with the surname Royster. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,688), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.53 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.53 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 Royster.
Has Royster become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Royster went from 8,056 recorded bearers to 7,576. That is a decrease of 480 (-6.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,409 to #4,547.
What does the Census say about the background of Royster?
Among Census respondents with the surname Royster, the largest self-reported group is Black at 57.9%. The next largest groups are White (33.3%) and Two or More Races (5.3%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Royster in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.9% (4,387 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Royster appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (57.9%), White (33.3%), Two or More Races (5.3%). 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 Royster (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 Royster mean?
An English occupational surname for a maker or seller of roast meat or a keeper of an alehouse. 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 Royster (2.53 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 have the surname Royster?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.