Claxton
Settlement near a deep wooded valley or stream clearing.
Name Census estimates that about 94 living Americans carry the first name Claxton. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Claxton today is around 71 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Claxton births was 1920 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Claxton. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Claxton is about 71 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Claxtons were born before 1965.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Claxton. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
94
~ 1 in 3,646,323 Americans
Peak year
1920
15 babies that year
Average age
71
years old
2011 SSA rank
#12,633
Tracked since 1913
Census
Claxton in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 185 people with the first name Claxton, which placed it at #40,305 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
#40,305
National first-name rank
People counted
185
185 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
47.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Claxton
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Claxton is Black at 47.6%. The next largest groups are White (45.4%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Claxton 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 Claxton at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American47.6% · 88
- White45.4% · 84
- Two or more races3.8% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 3
Popularity
Claxton: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Claxton from the 1910s through to the 2010s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 98 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Claxton 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 Claxton during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Claxtons live
Origin
Meaning and history of Claxton
The name Claxton finds its origins in the English language, tracing back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "clæg" and "tun," which together translate to "clay town" or "town of clay." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to a settlement or village located in an area abundant with clay soil, potentially tied to pottery-making or brick-making industries.
During the medieval period, the name Claxton appeared as a place name, referring to various villages and localities across England. Historical records show that as early as the 11th century, the name was used to identify settlements in counties such as Norfolk, Suffolk, and Yorkshire. Over time, it transitioned into a surname for families residing in these areas, and eventually, some individuals adopted it as a given name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of Claxton as a first name can be found in the court records of King Edward III, who ruled England from 1327 to 1377. The records mention a certain Claxton de Norwich, a merchant who was involved in a legal dispute over trade goods in the year 1349. While details about his life are scarce, this reference provides evidence of the name's usage during the 14th century.
In the 15th century, a notable figure bearing the name Claxton was Sir William Claxton, a knight and landowner from Northumberland. He fought in the Wars of the Roses, supporting the Yorkist cause, and was awarded lands and titles for his service to King Edward IV. Sir William Claxton lived from approximately 1425 to 1492.
Moving forward to the 16th century, Claxton Smyth was a prominent English scholar and theologian. Born around 1515 in Lincolnshire, he studied at the University of Cambridge and later became a respected academic and author, publishing several works on religious subjects. Claxton Smyth's exact date of death is unknown, but historical records suggest he lived until at least the late 1500s.
In the 17th century, Claxton Pym was a notable English politician and member of the Long Parliament during the tumultuous period of the English Civil War. Born in 1602 in Somerset, he played a significant role in the parliamentary opposition to King Charles I and was a vocal advocate for religious reforms. Claxton Pym died in 1643, shortly after the outbreak of the civil war.
Another figure of historical importance was Claxton Browne, an English explorer and navigator who lived in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Born in 1675 in Devon, Browne embarked on several voyages to the Americas and the West Indies, contributing to the mapping and exploration of new territories. He passed away in 1738 at the age of 63.
These examples illustrate the historical presence and diversity of individuals who bore the name Claxton throughout various periods and contexts, ranging from scholars and politicians to knights and explorers. While the name may have originated from humble beginnings, referring to a settlement shaped by clay, it has been carried by notable figures across centuries of English history.
People
Claxton + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Claxton as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Claxton: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Claxton?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 94 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Claxton 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 3,646,323 US residents.
Is Claxton a common name?
We classify Claxton as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 285 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Claxton most popular?
The single biggest year for Claxton was 1920, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Claxton is about 71 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Claxton in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 185 people with the name Claxton, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #40,305 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 Claxton 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 Claxton?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Claxton leans strongly male. 173 people counted with this name were male (96.6%), compared with 6 female bearers (3.4%). 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 Claxton?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Claxton is Black at 47.6%. The next largest groups are White (45.4%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Claxton most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Claxton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.6% (88 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 Claxton in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Claxton a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Claxton 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 Claxton still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Claxton 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 Claxton 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 common is the name Claxton?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Claxton on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.