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    The surname Baxter

    An English occupational surname, carried by 49,033 people in the United States.

    Pronounced /ˈbækstɚ/ 2 syllables Soundex B236 Also a first name

    Baxter: #706 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#10,001Dubon Baxter #706, 49,033 people Baxter: #706 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#100Jimenez Baxter #706, 49,033 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Baxter is more common than 99.6% of them.

    Origin

    English origin

    From Middle English bakster, bakestre, from Old English bæcestre (“baker”), equivalent to bake + -ster.

    Baxter is an occupational surname: named after the work an ancestor did.

    One of 1,446 English surnames on this site.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 49,033 people named Baxter in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 6,297 Americans. That is up 2.5% since 2000, when the Census counted 47,857.

    #706
    rank among US surnames
    49,033
    people in 2010
    17
    per 100,000 Americans
    +2.5%
    change since 2000 (was #647)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #697Booth49,4026,250
    #698Koch49,3956,251
    #699Golden49,3606,255
    #700Ware49,3166,261
    #701Brennan49,2386,270
    #702McDowell49,2176,273
    #703Marks49,1776,278

    Who is named Baxter

    Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

    80% of people named Baxter identified as white (not Hispanic), 14% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

    • White (not Hispanic) 80%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 14%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.5%
    • Two or more races 2.1%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.6%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Famous Baxters

    22 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Anne Baxter
      American actress (1923–1985)
    • Warner Baxter
      American actor (1889–1951)
    • Irving Baxter
      American athletics competitor (born 1876)
    • Meredith Baxter
      American actress and producer (born 1947)
    • Jeff Baxter
      American guitarist, born 1948
    • Les Baxter
      American musician, singer, composer (1922–1996)
    • Alan Baxter
      American actor (1908–1976)
    • Lonny Baxter
      American basketball player (born 1979)
    • Stanley Baxter
      British actor (1926–2025)
    • William H. Baxter
      American linguist, born 1949
    • Kirk Baxter
      Australian film editor, born 1972
    • Rodney Baxter
      Australian physicist, 1940–2025

    Notable Baxters come mostly from the United States (12), the United Kingdom (5) and Australia (3).

    Other English surnames

    All 1,446 English surnames

    Questions

    Where does the surname Baxter come from?
    From Middle English bakster, bakestre, from Old English bæcestre (“baker”), equivalent to bake + -ster.
    How common is the surname Baxter?
    49,033 people in the United States had the surname Baxter in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 6,297 Americans. It ranked 706th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Baxter?
    In the 2010 Census, 80% of people named Baxter identified as white (not Hispanic), and 14% as Black (not Hispanic).
    Who is the most famous person named Baxter?
    Anne Baxter, American actress (1923–1985), followed by Warner Baxter.
    Where is the surname Baxter most common?
    Wikidata records people named Baxter in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia and 1 other country.
    How do you pronounce Baxter?
    Baxter is /ˈbækstɚ/, 2 syllables.
    What type of surname is Baxter?
    Baxter is an occupational surname, named after the work an ancestor did.
    Is the surname Baxter getting more or less common?
    More common. 47,857 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 49,033 in 2010, up 2.5%.
    Is Baxter also a first name?
    Yes. Baxter is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.