Explore the Family Name Start

The meaning of Start

English: from Middle English stert ‘tail’ (Old English steort), used in its transferred sense ‘promontory, tongue of land, hill spur’. The surname may be topographic, for someone who lived near such a feature, or habitational, from a place so named, such as Stert in Cornwood (Devon), Stert in Diptford (Devon), Start in Slapton (Devon), Start Farm and Start Point in Stokenham (Devon), Stert (Wiltshire), Sturtwood Farm in Newdigate (Surrey), Sturt Lane in Frimley (Surrey), and Sturt Farm in Haslemere (Surrey).

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Start in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname "Start" has experienced a decline in popularity over the years. In the year 2000, it ranked 24,350th but descended to 35,721st by 2010, marking a significant decrease of 46.7%. The count of people bearing this surname also fell from 964 in 2000 to 629 in 2010, indicating a 34.75% reduction. The proportion per 100k people also decreased by 41.67%, moving from 0.36 in 2000 to 0.21 in 2010.

20002010Change
Rank#24,350#35,721-46.7%
Count964629-34.75%
Proportion per 100k0.360.21-41.67%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Start

Regarding its ethnic identity distribution, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows that the majority of individuals with the surname "Start" identify as White, with 94.61% in 2000 and a nearly unchanged 94.59% in 2010. The proportion of those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander increased by 41.48%, moving from 1.35% in 2000 to 1.91% in 2010. Similarly, the Hispanic group saw an increase from 1.66% in 2000 to 1.91% in 2010. Interestingly, the 2010 census recorded a new group, Black, at 0.79%. There were no changes for those identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native, and those identifying with two or more races dropped to 0% in 2010.

20002010Change
White94.61%94.59%-0.02%
Asian/Pacific Islander1.35%1.91%41.48%
Hispanic1.66%1.91%15.06%
Black0%0.79%0%
Two or More Races1.35%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%