How common is the surname Bristol?

7,694 people in the United States had the surname Bristol in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 40,128 Americans. It ranked 4,611th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Bristol?

Johnny Bristol, American musician (1939–2004), followed by Kervin Bristol.

Where is the surname Bristol most common?

Wikidata records people named Bristol in the United States.

How do you pronounce Bristol?

Bristol is /ˈbɹɪstəl/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Bristol getting more or less common?

More common. 7,296 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 7,694 in 2010, up 5.5%.

What are other spellings of Bristol?

Bristole, Brigstow, Bristou, Bristow and Brizzle.

The surname Bristol

A surname, carried by 7,694 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈbɹɪstəl/ 2 syllables Soundex B623

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Bristol is more common than 97.2% of them.

Origin

Inherited from Middle English Bristowe, from Old English Bryċġstōw (literally “the place by the bridge”), from bryċġ + -stōw, with additional final /l/ due to hypercorrection from l-vocalizing accents. See bridge and stow for more. The tiddlywinks sense is associated with players from Bristol University.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 7,694 people named Bristol in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 40,128 Americans. That is up 5.5% since 2000, when the Census counted 7,296.

#4,611

rank among US surnames

7,694

people in 2010

2.6

per 100,000 Americans

+5.5%

change since 2000 (was #4,473)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#4,602	Kehoe	7,708	40,055
#4,603	Sayers	7,705	40,071
#4,604	Romine	7,704	40,076
#4,605	Getz	7,703	40,081
#4,606	Abrego	7,702	40,086
#4,609	Whyte	7,701	40,092
#4,610	Ovalle	7,698	40,107

Who is named Bristol

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

73% of people named Bristol identified as white (not Hispanic), 18% as Black (not Hispanic) and 4.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 73%
Black (not Hispanic) 18%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 4.4%
Two or more races 2.6%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.4%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Bristols

2 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Johnny Bristol
American musician (1939–2004)
Kervin Bristol
American basketball player, born 1988

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Bristole
Brigstow
Bristou
Bristow
Brizzle

Surnames that sound like Bristol

Bristol has the Soundex code B623, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code B623.

Questions

Where does the surname Bristol come from?: Inherited from Middle English Bristowe, from Old English Bryċġstōw (literally “the place by the bridge”), from bryċġ + -stōw, with additional final /l/ due to hypercorrection from l-vocalizing accents. See bridge and stow for more. The tiddlywinks sense is associated with players from Bristol…
How common is the surname Bristol?: 7,694 people in the United States had the surname Bristol in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 40,128 Americans. It ranked 4,611th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Bristol?: In the 2010 Census, 73% of people named Bristol identified as white (not Hispanic), and 18% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Bristol?: Johnny Bristol, American musician (1939–2004), followed by Kervin Bristol.
Where is the surname Bristol most common?: Wikidata records people named Bristol in the United States.
How do you pronounce Bristol?: Bristol is /ˈbɹɪstəl/, 2 syllables.
Is the surname Bristol getting more or less common?: More common. 7,296 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 7,694 in 2010, up 5.5%.
What are other spellings of Bristol?: Bristole, Brigstow, Bristou, Bristow and Brizzle.