Dunston
Usually a locational surname meaning “from Dunston,” a place name found in several English counties.
The #8,850 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 83,400 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Dunston is most likely a habitational surname, taken from one of several English places called Dunston. The place-name appears to come from Old English elements, usually explained as a personal name plus -tun, meaning “farm,” “settlement,” or “enclosure,” though details can vary by location. Some early writers also treated the surname as a baptismal form from the personal name Dunstan, but the place-name explanation is generally the stronger one for the surname as a whole.
History
Medieval records show people described as de Dunston or similar forms, which is typical of a surname taken from a place of origin. Bardsley notes multiple Dunston places, including examples in Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, and elsewhere, helping explain why the name arose independently in more than one area. The spelling has remained fairly stable, though variants such as Dunstone and Donstone appear in older records.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname has been linked in some older sources to St. Dunstan, the famous Abbot of Glastonbury and Archbishop of Canterbury, but most surname historians treat the place-name origin as the main explanation.
From the historical record
“Loodon, I ; Phitodelphio, i, Dnnvtan, Dunston, Dun- ■tone.— (I) Bapt. 'f Dunstan.' One of this name was Abbot of Glastonbury and Arch- bishop of Canterbury. - D>lan,«.K<”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances