# Preston (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/preston/  
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 from Old English.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 47,367 |
| US rank (2010) | 736 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 6,518 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.3% (45,850 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈpɹɛs.tən/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Old English Prēostatūn, from prēosta (“priests'”, genitive plural) + tūn (“settlement”). Doublet of Prestatyn.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Preston 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) | 73% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 20% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.1% |
| Two or more races | 2.3% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Preston in the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.

## People named Preston

- Kelly Preston, American actress (1962–2020)
- Billy Preston, American R&B musician (1946–2006)
- Robert Preston, American actor and singer (1918–1987)
- Carrie Preston, American actress
- Douglas Preston, American journalist and author (born 1956)
- Don Preston, American musician (born 1932)
- Thomas Austin Preston, American poker player (1928–2012)
- Ann Preston, American physician
- Johnny Preston, American rock and roll singer (1939–2011)
- Margaret Preston, Australian artist (1875-1963)
- Wayde Preston, American actor (1929-1992)
- J. A. Preston, American actor

and 14 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Prescott, Priest, Priester, Prestridge, Presswood, Presti, Prestwood, Proctor, Preciado, Persaud, Prasad, Prickett.

## 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.