How common is the surname Porter?

163,054 people in the United States had the surname Porter in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 1,894 Americans. It ranked 159th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Porter?

George Porter, British chemist (1920–2002), followed by Cole Porter.

Where is the surname Porter most common?

Wikidata records people named Porter in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom and 3 other countries.

Is the surname Porter getting more or less common?

More common. 156,848 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 163,054 in 2010, up 4.0%.

Is Porter also a first name?

Yes. Porter 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.

The surname Porter

An English occupational surname, carried by 163,054 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex P636 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Porter is more common than 99.9% of them.

Origin

English origin

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

Porter 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 163,054 people named Porter in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 1,894 Americans. That is up 4.0% since 2000, when the Census counted 156,848.

#159

rank among US surnames

163,054

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+4%

change since 2000 (was #148)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#150	Chen	169,580	1,821
#151	Freeman	169,149	1,825
#152	Webb	168,878	1,828
#153	Tucker	167,446	1,844
#154	Guzman	167,044	1,848
#155	Burns	165,925	1,861
#156	Crawford	164,457	1,877

Who is named Porter

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

69% of people named Porter identified as white (not Hispanic), 25% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 69%
Black (not Hispanic) 25%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.5%
Two or more races 2.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Porters

72 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

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, born 1947
Edwin Stanton Porter
American film pioneer (1870–1941)
Billy Porter
American singer and actor, born 1969
Scott Porter
American actor, born 1979
Adina Porter
American actress, born 1971
Alisan Porter
American actress and singer, born 1981
Otto Porter
American basketball player (born 1993)
Michael Porter Jr.
American basketball player (born 1998)

Notable Porters come mostly from the United States (57), Australia (6) and the United Kingdom (5).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Porter

Porter has the Soundex code P636, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code P636.

Other English surnames

All 1,446 English surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Porter come from?: From Middle English Porter, from porter (“porter”), * From Old French portier (“doorman”), from porte (“door”) * From Old French portour (“bearer”), from porter (“to carry”)
How common is the surname Porter?: 163,054 people in the United States had the surname Porter in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 1,894 Americans. It ranked 159th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Porter?: In the 2010 Census, 69% of people named Porter identified as white (not Hispanic), and 25% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Porter?: George Porter, British chemist (1920–2002), followed by Cole Porter.
Where is the surname Porter most common?: Wikidata records people named Porter in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom and 3 other countries.
What type of surname is Porter?: Porter is an occupational surname, named after the work an ancestor did.
Is the surname Porter getting more or less common?: More common. 156,848 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 163,054 in 2010, up 4.0%.
Is Porter also a first name?: Yes. Porter 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.