Winston
Usually an English surname from place names meaning “Wine’s town” or from an old personal name.
The #1,662 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 14,250 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Most evidence points to an English place-name origin. The surname is linked to places called Winston, usually explained as meaning “Wine’s estate or settlement,” from the Old English personal name Wine plus tūn, “farm, estate, village.” Some older writers also treated it as a surname from the Old English personal name Winstan or Winestan, so there may be overlap between locational and personal-name origins in different families.
History
The name is recorded from medieval English localities in Durham, Suffolk, and elsewhere, and appears in hereditary use by the 13th century. Some family lines were later associated with specific places such as Winston in Devon or other regional Winston place names. Because several English places share the name, different Winston families may not share a single origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One historical note links Winston with the old personal name Winestan, which also helped explain the related surname Winstanley.
From the historical record
“once, at this spot, known as the Winster. WINSTON (Eng.) i Bel. to Winston = Wine's Farm or Estate [the genit., wines, of O.E. wi?te, friend -|- iiin,^ farm, &c.] The Durh. place was Wineston in the 14th cent., Wyneston in the 13th. The Suff. parish was Wynston in the 14th cent., Wyneston in the 13th. 2 conf. with…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)