How common is the surname Winston?

21,667 people in the United States had the surname Winston in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 14,250 Americans. It ranked 1,662nd of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Winston?

Stan Winston, American special effects artist (1946–2008), followed by George Winston.

Where is the surname Winston most common?

Wikidata records people named Winston in the United States and Australia.

How do you pronounce Winston?

Winston is /ˈwɪn.stən/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Winston getting more or less common?

More common. 20,537 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 21,667 in 2010, up 5.5%.

Is Winston also a first name?

Yes. Winston 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 Winston

An English surname, carried by 21,667 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈwɪn.stən/ 2 syllables Soundex W523 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). Winston is more common than 99% of them.

Origin

English origin

From Old English personal name Wine, in the genitive singular case Wines + tūn (“farm, village”).

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 21,667 people named Winston in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 14,250 Americans. That is up 5.5% since 2000, when the Census counted 20,537.

#1,662

rank among US surnames

21,667

people in 2010

7.3

per 100,000 Americans

+5.5%

change since 2000 (was #1,605)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,653	Hadley	21,771	14,182
#1,654	Healy	21,751	14,195
#1,655	McDonough	21,739	14,202
#1,656	Shin	21,735	14,205
#1,657	Grove	21,732	14,207
#1,658	Block	21,717	14,217
#1,659	Peacock	21,712	14,220

Who is named Winston

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

63% of people named Winston identified as Black (not Hispanic), 30% as white (not Hispanic) and 3.6% as two or more races.

Black (not Hispanic) 63%
White (not Hispanic) 30%
Two or more races 3.6%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.4%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.7%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.3%

Compare: most common surnames among Black Americans.

Famous Winstons

12 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Stan Winston
American special effects artist (1946–2008)
George Winston
American pianist and recording artist (1949–2023)
Harry Winston
American jeweller (1896–1978)
Matt Winston
American actor, born 1970
Jameis Winston
American football player (born 1994)
Patrick Winston
American computer scientist (1943-2019)
John A. Winston
American politician (1812-1871)
Alex Winston
American musician, born 1987
Hattie Winston
American actress, born 1945
Cassius Winston
American basketball player (born 1998)
Kennedy Winston
American professional basketball player, born 1984
Douglas Winston
Australian Olympic athlete (1932–2021)

Notable Winstons come mostly from the United States (11) and Australia (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Winston

Winston has the Soundex code W523, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code W523.

Other English surnames

All 1,446 English surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Winston come from?: From Old English personal name Wine, in the genitive singular case Wines + tūn (“farm, village”).
How common is the surname Winston?: 21,667 people in the United States had the surname Winston in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 14,250 Americans. It ranked 1,662nd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Winston?: In the 2010 Census, 63% of people named Winston identified as Black (not Hispanic), and 30% as white (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Winston?: Stan Winston, American special effects artist (1946–2008), followed by George Winston.
Where is the surname Winston most common?: Wikidata records people named Winston in the United States and Australia.
How do you pronounce Winston?: Winston is /ˈwɪn.stən/, 2 syllables.
Is the surname Winston getting more or less common?: More common. 20,537 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 21,667 in 2010, up 5.5%.
Is Winston also a first name?: Yes. Winston 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.