Winston
Top 1000
About Winston
Long associated with the Churchill family and common in the West Indies, the distinguished Winston is back in style having been slightly neglected in the US after its brief flash of popularity during World War II. Familiar in England and Wales, recent years have seen in re-enter the Top 500 in the States.
An English place and surname, Winston derives from the Anglo-Saxon Wynnstan, meaning "joy stone", though "friend's town" is another interpretation. It features in George Orwell's famous novel 1984, borne by the protagonist, Winston Smith, whose name serves to make him both an "everyman" character and an individual.
It also has a presence in Pulp Fiction, is the name of a character in the best-selling book and film How Stella Got Her Groove Back, and was the middle name of both John Lennon and John Howard, long-serving Australian Prime Minister. More recently, it appeared the TV show, 13 Reasons Why while actress Billie Piper and actor Laurence Fox named their son Winston in 2008.
The name peaked in the US back in 1941 when it reached #234 on the charts. Parents then were seeking to honor the British Wartime Prime Minister, however, today, this association may be the reason why some wouldn't use the name. On one hand, some parents may feel it's too attached to one figure, making it hard to wear or live up to; for others, the link to the politician is a negative or at least controversial one.
Nevertheless, Winston was chosen for nearly 800 American boys in a recent year, while in the UK, it was chosen for around 50, and it does fit in with recent trends towards strong vintage names, like Edward, Edmund, and Alfred. Nicknames Winnie and Win might soften it slightly.
Pronounced WIN-stun.
As of October 2026, Winston ranked #382 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #234 in 1941, Nameberry popularity #169.
Editor's take: The name Winston is a boy's name of English origin meaning "friend's town; joy stone".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #538 | 518 | 269.7 |
| 2015 | #523 | 551 | 287.5 |
| 2016 | #472 | 649 | 342 |
| 2017 | #405 | 782 | 422.5 |
| 2018 | #404 | 790 | 435 |
| 2019 | #372 | 860 | 479.3 |
| 2020 | #408 | 725 | 420 |
| 2021 | #409 | 762 | 435.6 |
| 2022 | #420 | 761 | 435.9 |
| 2023 | #398 | 798 | 466.5 |
| 2024 | #405 | 797 | 462.6 |
| 2025 | #382 | 830 | 485.9 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Winston.
- Harvey
- Sidney
- Clyde
- Franklin
- Samson
- Freddie
- Alfie
- Reuben
- Montgomery
- Quincy
- Angus
- Gus
- Clark
- Hugh
- Chester
- Monty
- Conrad
- Abel
- Murphy
- Duncan
Winston on lists
Famous Winstons
- Winston Leonard Spencer
Churchill, British prime minister
- Winston Frederick Justice
American football player
- Winston Guy
American football player
- Winston Raymond Peters
Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand
- Winston Wiremu Reid
New Zealand footballer
- Winston Aubrey Aladar Marshall
British musician of band Mumford & Sons
- Winston Leonardo Abreu
Dominican baseball player
- Winston Venable
American CFL player; son of baseball player Max Venable
- Winston James Fox (b. 2008)
son of actors Laurence Fox and Billie Piper
- Winston Elba (b. 2014)
son of actors Idris Elba & Naiyana Garth
- Winston Marc Butler (b. 2014)
son of YouTubers CaseyLavere & HeyKayli
- John Winston Lennon
English musician of The Beatles
- Winston Roy Followill (b. 2019)
son of Lily Aldridge and Caleb Followill
Winston in pop culture
- Dallas "Dally" Winston
fictional character in the novel "The Outisders" written by S. E. Hinton and was portrayed by Matt Dillon in the movie adaptation of the same name
- Winston Smith
main character in George Orwell's "1984"
- Winston Zeddemore
character in the Ghostbusters films
- Winston Bishop
character on TV's "New Girl"
- Winston
dog on TV's "Hannibal"
- Winston Payne
character from the "Ace Attorney" video game series
- Winston Stone
character on TV series "The Stones"
- Winston
character in "The Maze Runner" trilogy
- Winston Wolf
character in the movie "Pulp Fiction"
- Winston Newquay
character on TV's "Wiseguy"
- Winston "Widget" Murray
character in Erin Morgenstern's "The Night Circus"
- Winston
character in Disney's "Oliver & Company"
- Winston
character in webcomic "Unfamiliar"
- Winston
brand of cigarette
- Winston
Salem, North Carolina, USA
- Winston
playable tank character in Blizzard's "Overwatch"
- Winston
SuperBookUSA mascot dog, appeared in a Twitter Pic with Supermodel Elle Johnson on March 21, 2019
- Winston
character in the film series "John Wick"
- Winston Pratt
character in the 'Renegades' trilogy