NameCensus.

UK surname

Reston

An English habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "town on the river" or "town by the stream."

In the 1881 census there were 200 people recorded with the Reston surname, ranking it #12,836 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 233, ranked #17,625, down from #12,836 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to New Monkland, Govan Combination and Eccles. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Possil Park, Glenrothes Caskieberran and Rimbleton and Caldercruix and Plains.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Reston is 330 in 1861. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 16.5%.

1881 census count

200

Ranked #12,836

Modern count

233

2016, ranked #17,625

Peak year

1861

330 bearers

Map years

8

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Reston had 200 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #12,836 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 233 in 2016, ranked #17,625.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 330 in 1861.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Legacy and Demographically Mixed Communities.

Reston surname distribution map

The map shows where the Reston surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Reston surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Reston over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 164 #12,116
1861 historical 330 #7,721
1881 historical 200 #12,836
1891 historical 266 #12,169
1901 historical 216 #14,426
1911 historical 75 #25,322
1997 modern 217 #16,761
1998 modern 224 #16,888
1999 modern 215 #17,425
2000 modern 216 #17,340
2001 modern 211 #17,376
2002 modern 227 #16,877
2003 modern 215 #17,286
2004 modern 208 #17,758
2005 modern 217 #17,217
2006 modern 222 #17,092
2007 modern 222 #17,288
2008 modern 223 #17,395
2009 modern 238 #17,002
2010 modern 232 #17,657
2011 modern 221 #18,039
2012 modern 222 #17,921
2013 modern 224 #18,080
2014 modern 226 #18,088
2015 modern 232 #17,689
2016 modern 233 #17,625

Geography

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Where Restons are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around New Monkland, Govan Combination, Eccles, Glasgow and West Derby. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Possil Park, Glenrothes Caskieberran and Rimbleton, Caldercruix and Plains, Liverpool and Kincardine. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 New Monkland Lanark
2 Govan Combination Lanark
3 Eccles Lancashire
4 Glasgow Lanark
5 West Derby Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Possil Park Glasgow City
2 Glenrothes Caskieberran and Rimbleton Fife
3 Caldercruix and Plains North Lanarkshire
4 Liverpool 002 Liverpool
5 Kincardine Fife

Forenames

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First names often paired with Reston

These lists show first names that appear often with the Reston surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Reston

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Reston, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Legacy Communities

Group

Legacy and Demographically Mixed Communities

Nationally, the Reston surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Legacy and Demographically Mixed Communities, within Legacy Communities. This does not mean every Reston household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Households in these areas often include divorced or separated parents and commonly include children and young adults. The age structure is heavily skewed towards the most advanced age groups. Individuals identifying as members of ethnic minorities are not present in large numbers. Flats predominate, with some terraced, semi-detached, and detached units. Multiple car ownership is low, and housing is predominantly in the private and social rented sectors. Employment is less skewed towards traditional routine industrial occupations. Levels of educational attainment are generally low. The Group occurs principally in the Central Lowlands of Scotland and other Scottish towns.

Wider pattern

These neighbourhoods characteristically comprise pockets of flats that are scattered across the UK, particularly in towns that retain or have legacies of heavy industry or are in more remote seaside locations. Employed residents of these neighbourhoods work mainly in low-skilled occupations. Residents typically have limited educational qualifications. Unemployment is above average. Some residents live in overcrowded housing within the social rented sector and experience long-term disability. All adult age groups are represented, although there is an overall age bias towards elderly people in general and the very old in particular. Individuals identifying as belonging to ethnic minorities or Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups are uncommon.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Established Homeowners with Children

Within London, Reston is most associated with areas classed as Established Homeowners with Children, part of Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These predominantly British-born residents are typically married/in civil partnerships and own the properties in which they are raising their children. Parents are typically over 45, and many other residents are beyond normal retirement age. Detached and semi-detached houses predominate and multiple car ownership is common.

Wider London pattern

These neighbourhoods house people of all ages, predominantly of White British or European extraction. Resident turnover is low. Religious affiliation is less common than average and tends to be Christian if expressed. Homeownership, typically of terraced houses, is common but use of the social rented sector is not. Employment is typically in professional, managerial and associate professional or technical occupations. There are few full-time students. Level 4 qualifications are common. More households lack dependent children than have them which, considered alongside low levels of crowding and over-all age structure, indicates that many households may be post child-rearing and in late middle age. Incidence of disability is low, as is residence in communal establishments.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Reston is most concentrated in decile 2 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

2
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Reston falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Reston is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Reston, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Reston

The surname Reston has its origins in England, where it first emerged in the medieval period. It is believed to be a locational surname, derived from the place name Reston, a small village in the county of Yorkshire. This place name is thought to have originated from the Old English words "resc" meaning "rush" and "tun" meaning "enclosure" or "town," suggesting that the name referred to a settlement near a rushbed or marshy area.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Reston can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of land ownership and taxation in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. In this document, the name is spelled as "Restedune," reflecting the evolving spelling over time.

During the 13th century, the surname appears in various historical records, including the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1230, where a person named Willelmus de Reston is mentioned. Another early record is from the Hundred Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1273, where a Richard de Reston is listed.

Notable individuals bearing the surname Reston include Sir John Reston (c. 1492-1568), an English diplomat and ambassador to Scotland during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Another prominent figure was Robert Reston (1675-1719), a Scottish mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics.

In the literary world, William Reston (1809-1891) was a Scottish author and poet known for his works on Scottish folklore and history. Additionally, James Reston (1909-1995), an American journalist and columnist for The New York Times, was a renowned figure in the field of journalism, winning two Pulitzer Prizes for his coverage of the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal.

The surname Reston has also been associated with several localities, such as Reston, Virginia, a planned community named after Robert E. Simon, the founder of the Reston Land Corporation. There is also a village called Reston in Berwickshire, Scotland, which may have contributed to the spread of the surname in that region.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Reston families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Reston surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Lanarkshire leads with 89 Restons recorded in 1881 and an index of 14.11x.

County Total Index
Lanarkshire 89 14.11x
Lancashire 47 2.03x
Yorkshire 8 0.41x
Durham 6 1.03x
Middlesex 6 0.31x
Midlothian 6 2.30x
Renfrewshire 6 3.97x
Sussex 6 1.82x
Argyllshire 5 9.21x
Devon 5 1.23x
Stirlingshire 5 6.95x
Nottinghamshire 2 0.76x
Perthshire 2 2.28x
Surrey 2 0.21x
Cheshire 1 0.23x
Dunbartonshire 1 1.91x
Hampshire 1 0.25x
Lincolnshire 1 0.32x
West Lothian 1 3.40x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Barony in Lanarkshire leads with 32 Restons recorded in 1881 and an index of 20.04x.

Place Total Index
Barony 32 20.04x
New Monkland 24 128.69x
Everton 20 27.11x
Old Monkland 11 43.93x
West Derby 9 13.29x
Salford 7 10.28x
Stretford 7 54.95x
Eastbourne 6 39.63x
Gateshead 6 13.81x
Govan 6 3.84x
Youlthorpe With 6 10000.00x
Buckfastleigh 5 267.38x
Campsie 5 126.58x
Dalserf 5 79.37x
Port Glasgow 5 68.40x
Edinburgh St Georges 4 73.80x
Kilmore Kilbride 4 115.94x
Shotts 4 52.98x
Bow London 2 8.05x
Cheetham 2 11.58x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 2 1.90x
Glasgow 2 1.79x
Hunslet 2 6.63x
Nottingham St Mary 2 2.94x
St Marylebone London 2 1.92x
Walton On Hill 2 15.95x
Bathgate 1 15.67x
Blairgowrie 1 28.90x
Bothwell 1 5.84x
Camberwell 1 0.80x
Carluke 1 17.45x
Carmichael 1 192.31x
Clerkenwell London 1 2.17x
East Kilbride 1 37.04x
Gainsborough 1 13.61x
Kilmalcolm 1 55.25x
Kirkintilloch 1 14.04x
Lambeth 1 0.59x
Lismore Appin 1 55.25x
Perth West Church 1 24.04x
Portsea 1 1.28x
Shettleston 1 17.70x
St Pancras London 1 0.64x
Stayley 1 20.33x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Reston surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Reston surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
James 6
Thomas 5
Arthur 4
George 4
John 4
Joseph 4
Samuel 4
Albert 3
William 3
Richard 2
Alfred 1
Charles 1
Edward 1
Frederick 1
Geo.John 1
Harry 1
Henry 1
Herbert 1
Percy 1

FAQ

Reston surname: questions and answers

How common was the Reston surname in 1881?

In 1881, 200 people were recorded with the Reston surname. That placed it at #12,836 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Reston surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 233 in 2016. That gives Reston a modern rank of #17,625.

What does the Reston surname mean?

An English habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "town on the river" or "town by the stream."

What does the Reston map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Reston bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.