# Armstrong (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/armstrong/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

An English surname transferred from the nickname, originally a nickname for someone with strong arms.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | nickname, from a description or nickname of an ancestor |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 135,044 |
| US rank (2010) | 213 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 2,286 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.9% (129,982 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɑɹmˌstɹɔŋ/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

By surface analysis, arm + strong. The rural municipality in Manitoba is named after politician James William Armstrong (1860 - 1928).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Armstrong in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 72% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 21% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.8% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.9% |
| Two or more races | 2.3% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Armstrong in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, New Zealand and Ireland.

## People named Armstrong

- Neil Armstrong, American astronaut and lunar explorer (1930–2012)
- Louis Armstrong, American jazz musician, trumpeter and singer (1901–1971)
- Billie Joe Armstrong, American rock musician (born 1972)
- Karen Armstrong, author and comparative religion scholar from Great Britain
- Edwin Howard Armstrong, American electrical engineer and inventor (1890–1954)
- Emily Armstrong, American rock musician
- Henry Armstrong, American boxer (1912–1988)
- Samaire Armstrong, American actress
- Bess Armstrong, American actress
- R. G. Armstrong, American actor (1917-2012)
- Craig Armstrong, British composer
- Kristin Armstrong, American cyclist

and 53 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Armstead, Armas, Arms, Armes, Armagost, Arrington, Arenas, Ahrens, Armijo, Arango, Aronson, Arneson.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.