# Porter (surname)

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

A surname originating as an occupation.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | occupational, named after the work an ancestor did |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 163,054 |
| US rank (2010) | 159 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 1,894 people |
| Change since 2000 | +4.0% (156,848 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Middle English Porter, from porter (“porter”), * From Old French portier (“doorman”), from porte (“door”) * From Old French portour (“bearer”), from porter (“to carry”)

## Who carries it

Share of people named Porter 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) | 69% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 25% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.7% |
| Two or more races | 2.3% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Porter in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Kingdom of Great Britain and Argentina.

## People named Porter

- George Porter, British chemist (1920–2002)
- Cole Porter, American composer and songwriter (1891–1964)
- Katherine Anne Porter, American journalist, essayist, short story writer, novelist, and political activist (1890–
- Eleanor H. Porter, American novelist (1868–1920)
- Michael Porter, American engineer and economist
- Edwin Stanton Porter, American film pioneer (1870–1941)
- Billy Porter, American singer and actor
- Scott Porter, American actor
- Adina Porter, American actress
- Alisan Porter, American actress and singer
- Otto Porter, American basketball player (born 1993)
- Michael Porter Jr., American basketball player (born 1998)

and 60 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Prater, Prather, Porterfield, Partridge, Prothro.

## 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.