NameRealm
Preston

Preston: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“priest's town”
Origin
Old English
Say it
PRESS-tun · 2 syllables
Used for
Boys

From an English surname and place name derived from Old English preost 'priest' and tun 'settlement'. It began as a habitational surname.

English namesNames meaning faithSurname-style namesClassic names

How popular is Preston?

2024319 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Preston in 20241,062

2024 rank#329 boys

Peak year2007

Total US babies since 1880122,600

Preston is fading: recent use is about 51% of its level ten years before.

Names like Preston

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Wesleywestern meadow · Old English
  • Westonwestern settlement · Old English
  • Blakeblack; pale · Old English
  • Edwardwealthy guardian · Old English
  • Ashtonash tree town · Old English
  • Kingstonking's town · Old English
  • Brandonbroom-covered hill · Old English
  • Bentleybent-grass clearing · Old English

Preston questions

What does the name Preston mean?

Preston means "priest's town". It comes from Old English. From an English surname and place name derived from Old English preost 'priest' and tun 'settlement'. It began as a habitational surname.

Is Preston a boy or girl name?

Preston is mainly a boy's name in US records (99% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Preston?

1,062 US babies were named Preston in 2024. Its peak year was 2007.

How do you pronounce Preston?

Preston is usually pronounced PRESS-tun.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.