How common is the surname Thurston?

15,234 people in the United States had the surname Thurston in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 20,267 Americans. It ranked 2,385th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Thurston?

William Thurston, American mathematician (1946–2012), followed by Robert Henry Thurston.

Where is the surname Thurston most common?

Wikidata records people named Thurston in the United States.

How do you pronounce Thurston?

Thurston is /ˈθɝs.tən/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Thurston getting more or less common?

More common. 14,918 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 15,234 in 2010, up 2.1%.

Is Thurston also a first name?

Yes. Thurston 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 Thurston

A surname, carried by 15,234 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈθɝs.tən/ 2 syllables Soundex T623 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). Thurston is more common than 98.5% of them.

Origin

A surname derived from the Old Norse given name Þorsteinn, brought to England by Vikings.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 15,234 people named Thurston in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 20,267 Americans. That is up 2.1% since 2000, when the Census counted 14,918.

#2,385

rank among US surnames

15,234

people in 2010

5.2

per 100,000 Americans

+2.1%

change since 2000 (was #2,234)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,376	Call	15,324	20,148
#2,377	Dowell	15,320	20,153
#2,378	Kellogg	15,317	20,157
#2,379	Horvath	15,302	20,177
#2,380	Whitmore	15,296	20,185
#2,381	Bianco	15,278	20,209
#2,382	Jack	15,256	20,238

Who is named Thurston

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

85% of people named Thurston identified as white (not Hispanic), 10% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.1% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 85%
Black (not Hispanic) 10%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.1%
Two or more races 1.8%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.3%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Thurstons

5 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

William Thurston
American mathematician (1946–2012)
Robert Henry Thurston
American mechanical engineer (1839-1903)
Scott Thurston
American musician, born 1952
John Mellen Thurston
American politician (1847–1916)
Lloyd Thurston
American politician (1880-1970)

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Tutton
Thurstan

Surnames that sound like Thurston

Thurgood

Thurston has the Soundex code T623, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code T623.

Questions

How common is the surname Thurston?: 15,234 people in the United States had the surname Thurston in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 20,267 Americans. It ranked 2,385th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Thurston?: In the 2010 Census, 85% of people named Thurston identified as white (not Hispanic), and 10% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Thurston?: William Thurston, American mathematician (1946–2012), followed by Robert Henry Thurston.
Where is the surname Thurston most common?: Wikidata records people named Thurston in the United States.
How do you pronounce Thurston?: Thurston is /ˈθɝs.tən/, 2 syllables.
Is the surname Thurston getting more or less common?: More common. 14,918 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 15,234 in 2010, up 2.1%.
What are other spellings of Thurston?: Tutton and Thurstan.
Is Thurston also a first name?: Yes. Thurston 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.