# Priest (surname)

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

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 14,915 |
| US rank (2010) | 2,430 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 20,700 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.9% (14,350 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Middle English Prest.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Priest 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) | 88% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 6.1% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.6% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.6% |
| Two or more races | 2.0% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Priest in the United States and the United Kingdom.

## People named Priest

- Christopher Priest, British author (1943–2024)
- Pat Priest, American actress
- Cherie Priest, American writer
- Steve Priest, Bassist for Sweet (1948–2020)
- Christopher J. Priest, American comic book writer

## Similar surnames

Presti, Preston, Prescott, Prickett, Priester, Priestley, Prestwood, Proctor, Preciado, Persaud, Prasad, Procter.

## 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.