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

Royster, 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 Royster surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Royster in America

Royster is the 4409th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Royster surname appeared 8,056 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Royster.

We can also compare 2010 data for Royster 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 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.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Royster

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

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

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

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