# Houston (surname)

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

A habitational surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 56,900 |
| US rank (2010) | 592 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 5,426 people |
| Change since 2000 | +5.3% (54,026 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈhjustən/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Hoston, Houstoun, Hughesdon |

## Etymology

Originally from a place near Glasgow, from the Middle English equivalent of "Hugh's town". Analyzable as Hugh + -s- + -ton

## Who carries it

Share of people named Houston 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) | 52% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 41% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.6% |
| Two or more races | 2.8% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Houston in the United States, Brazil and the United Kingdom.

## People named Houston

- Whitney Houston, American singer, actress, and film producer (1963–2012)
- Sam Houston, American statesman, politician, and soldier (1793-1863)
- Cissy Houston, American singer (1933–2024)
- Allan Houston, American basketball player (born 1971)
- Thelma Houston, American singer (born 1946)
- Drew Houston, American Internet entrepreneur
- Marques Houston, American actor, singer and dancer
- George S. Houston, American politician, Alabama (1811-1879)
- David Franklin Houston, American academic, businessman and politician (1866-1940)
- Edwin J. Houston, American businessman (1847-1914)
- Andrew Jackson Houston, American politician (1854-1941)
- Byron Houston, American basketball player (born 1969)

and 14 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Huston, Heston, Haston, Houghton, Hastings, Higdon, Haughton, Hasting, Hiestand.

## 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.