Preston

Did you know?

A few things about Preston you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Preston

Preston Sturges

American film director and screenwriter (1898-1959)

Choose Preston and your child shares a first name with Preston Sturges, an American film director and screenwriter. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Preston, like who?” Preston Sturges's Wikipedia article is available in 31 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Preston Sturges on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Paramount Pictures (Q159846), Public domain (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 1,510 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Preston, 1,131 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Preston would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryPreston has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Prestons, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIts best year was 2007, when it reached #114.
• 📉Then vs nowPreston was 2.1× more common in 2000 than it is today. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 716 baby boys; in 2025, about 1 in 1,510.
• 🍂TrendPreston has slipped 71 places over the last five years and now sits at #299. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 📍Where it's lovedPreston is most popular in Mississippi, where it ranks #132, followed by Washington, D.C. (#139) and Louisiana (#148). It makes the top 1,000 in almost every state.
• 💬MeaningIn Old English, Preston means “priest's town”.

About the name Preston

Preston is a boy name of English origin meaning “priest's town”. It has 7 letters and 2 syllables, starting with P and ending in “-ton”. US birth records list Preston for boys from 1880 to 2025, in 146 of those 146 years. Its best year was 2007, when it ranked #114 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #299, with 1,131 babies.

Origin:English names