Winston
Winston was the 382nd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 830 babies. Its best year was 1941, when it ranked 234th; the most babies were born in 2019 (860). Over the last ten years it has moved up 141 places. More babies were named Winston in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning Wine's farm · Old English
Say it WIN-stun /ˈwɪnstən/
- Rank in 2025
- #382 boys, up 26 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 830boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2019860 babies
- Total since 1880
- 32,956babies recorded
What does the name Winston mean?
Winston is an English place name from the Old English personal name Wine, "friend", and tūn, "farm, settlement": Wine's farm. Wiktionary and Harrison (1918) agree, Harrison noting the Durham place appears as Wyneston in the 13th century. It became a family first name among the Churchills in the 17th century, and Winston Churchill made it famous.
Wine (Old English, “personal name, 'friend'”)tūn (Old English, “farm, settlement”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Winnie, Win.
See also: English names, names from places.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Winston', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Henry Harrison, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary, vol. 2 (1918), s.v. 'WINSTON', Morland Press (public domain; Internet Archive scan)
Nicknames for Winston
The usual nicknames for Winston are Win and Winnie.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Win · also for Edwin | Traditional | — | — |
| Winnie · also for Winona, Winifred | Traditional | — | — |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Winstons go by each one.
Winston popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 162 since 1914.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #382 | 830 |
| 2020 | #408 | 726 |
| 2010 | #882 | 238 |
| 2000 | #704 | 249 |
| 1990 | #596 | 282 |
| 1980 | #654 | 177 |
| 1970 | #608 | 180 |
| 1960 | #569 | 189 |
| 1950 | #399 | 290 |
| 1940 | #310 | 329 |
| 1930 | #417 | 200 |
| 1920 | #405 | 211 |
| 1910 | #676 | 20 |
| 1900 | #741 | 13 |
| 1890 | #992 | 6 |
| 1880 | #1,052 | 5 |
How popular is Winston, counting every spelling?
Winston is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #379 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #382 for Winston on its own. Together these spellings went to 874 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winston | 830 | #382 | 3,950 |
| Wynston | 39 | #3,123 | 227 |
| Winsten | — | — | 29 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Winston?
830 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Winston (0.23 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Winston born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 10 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Winston.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Winston?
About 23,200 people born in the US named Winston are alive today, with a median age of 23; half are between 8 and 51. That makes Winston mostly worn by children and young adults. The wide spread shows a name popular in two different eras.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Winston by state
How common Winston was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in South Dakota (4.2×), West Virginia (2.8×), Kentucky (2.5×), Minnesota (2.5×), Utah (2.2×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Nevada, New Mexico, Connecticut.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Winston: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Winston, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Winston · Sibling names for Winston
Questions about the name Winston
What does Winston mean?
Winston means “Wine's farm” (Old English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Winston?
Winston was the 382nd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 830 babies. Its best year was 1941, when it ranked 234th; the most babies were born in 2019 (860). Over the last ten years it has moved up 141 places. More babies were named Winston in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Winston a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Winston in the US.
Where is Winston most popular?
In 2021–2025, Winston was most common in South Dakota (1.94 per 1,000 boys), followed by West Virginia and Kentucky.