Bolton
A masculine given name of English origin meaning "settlement belonging to Beau".
Name Census estimates that about 219 living Americans carry the first name Bolton. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Bolton today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bolton births was 2017 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bolton. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
219
~ 1 in 1,565,088 Americans
Peak year
2017
15 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,374
Tracked since 1905
Census
Bolton in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 295 people with the first name Bolton, which placed it at #29,826 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#29,826
National first-name rank
People counted
295
295 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
69.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bolton
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bolton is White at 69.8%. The next largest groups are Black (12.2%) and Hispanic (6.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Bolton described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Bolton at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.8% · 206
- Black or African American12.2% · 36
- Hispanic or Latino6.4% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.1% · 18
- Two or more races4.4% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 3
Popularity
Bolton: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bolton from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 93 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Bolton remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bolton by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Bolton during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Bolton
The name Bolton originates from an Old English surname derived from the place name Bolton, which means "dwelling place" or "house by the heaps of hills." The earliest recorded use of the name dates back to the 12th century in Lancashire, England.
Bolton was initially a locational surname given to individuals who lived in or near the town of Bolton. As surnames became more common, some families adopted the place name as a given name, leading to its widespread use as a first name.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Bolton was Bolton le Scriptor, a 13th-century scribe and copyist from Yorkshire, England. He is known for his work in transcribing and preserving medieval manuscripts.
In the 16th century, Bolton Priory in Yorkshire was a prominent monastic house, and several individuals associated with the priory bore the name Bolton. One notable figure was Bolton Bannister, a monk and scholar who lived from 1515 to 1587.
During the English Civil War in the 17th century, Bolton Wandesford (1592-1667) was a prominent Royalist commander who fought for King Charles I. He was known for his bravery and loyalty to the Crown.
In the literary world, Bolton Cormier (1734-1799) was a French poet and playwright who gained recognition for his works that explored themes of love, nature, and human emotions.
Another notable figure was Bolton Smithers (1825-1901), an English engineer and inventor who contributed significantly to the development of early steam engines and locomotives.
As the name spread beyond its geographical origins, it gained popularity in various parts of the world. For example, Bolton Salmond (1868-1944) was a New Zealand politician and lawyer who served as the 19th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1923 to 1924.
Throughout history, the name Bolton has been associated with individuals from diverse backgrounds, reflecting its enduring appeal and versatility across cultures and eras.
People
Bolton + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bolton as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Bolton: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bolton?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 219 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bolton going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,565,088 US residents.
Is Bolton a common name?
We classify Bolton as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 233 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bolton most popular?
The single biggest year for Bolton was 2017, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bolton is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Bolton in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 295 people with the name Bolton, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,826 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Bolton in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Bolton?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bolton leans strongly male. 283 people counted with this name were male (97.9%), compared with 6 female bearers (2.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Bolton?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bolton is White at 69.8%. The next largest groups are Black (12.2%) and Hispanic (6.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Bolton most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Bolton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.8% (206 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Bolton in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bolton a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bolton in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Bolton still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bolton in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Bolton can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Bolton?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.