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Origins of the Preston surname

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What does the name Preston mean?

Preston is an English surname. It has a geographic basis and refers to someone who is from (or has ancestors from) a locality of the name of Preston. There are places of this name across England and Scotland, the largest of which is in Lancashire, where the name is still prevalent.

Alternative variations of the name Preston

Preston, Prestone, Prestin, Prestun, Presston

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Where do most Prestons live?

In 1921, most Prestons lived in London.


Census records trace your ancestors through each generation, so you can follow where your relatives lived through each decade.

Interesting facts about Prestons

How common is your surname?

260th most common surname in the UK

We have 151,000 records for the Preston surname. The oldest one dates back to 1100.

Who were Prestons most likely to marry?

Smiths

&

Johnsons

Our Marriage record sets tell us which families married Prestons.

What are the most common Preston first names?

  • John
  • William
  • Mary
  • Elizabeth

Our birth record sets tell us the names of Preston family members

Common jobs for Prestons

Men and women often performed different types of jobs, so these are displayed by gender to maintain their historical accuracy.

Common Female occupations for Prestons in 1921
Dressmaker

626

Cotton Weaver

593

Laundress

330

Domestic Servant

327

General Servant Domestic

315

Common Male occupations for Prestons in 1921
Agricultural Labourer

612

General Labourer

556

Farmer

488

Coal Miner

423

Farm Labourer

360

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Census records provide incredible detail on names, ages, marital statuses, occupations and more.

We found over 200,000 family trees with the Preston surname

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