Colton
From an English surname transferred from a place name meaning "settlement of the cola people".
Name Census estimates that about 146,704 living Americans carry the first name Colton. It sits at #98 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Colton today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Colton births was 2013 (6,494 babies). In terms of living bearers, it sits close to Shelby (146,533).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Colton. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Colton with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Colton is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 203 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Colton is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 18 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
147K
~ 1 in 2,336 Americans
Peak year
2013
6,494 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#98
Tracked since 1913
Census
Colton in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 117,147 people with the first name Colton, which placed it at #484 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
#484
National first-name rank
People counted
117K
117,147 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
38.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
89.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Colton
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Colton is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Hispanic (4.1%). 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 Colton 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 Colton at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.1% · 104,358
- Two or more races4.4% · 5,168
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 4,782
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1,114
- Black or African American0.9% · 1,025
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 700
Gender
Gender distribution for Colton
Out of the 148,712 babies given the name Colton since 1880, 99.9% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Colton as a male name
- Ranked #98 in 2024
- 3,588 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2013 (6,488 births)
Colton as a female name
- Ranked #12,413 in 2023
- 7 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2004 (20 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Colton appears almost entirely male. Of the 117,141 people counted with this name, 99.8% were male and only a very small share were female.
Popularity
Colton: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Colton from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 58,517 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Colton remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Colton 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 Colton during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Coltons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 50 states and territories. Texas, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Colton, while Vermont, Rhode Island, Hawaii recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 2,946 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Colton
The name Colton has its origins rooted in English and Anglo-Saxon cultures, with the earliest records dating back to the 11th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "col" meaning coal or charcoal, and "tun" meaning a farm or settlement. Thus, the name Colton initially referred to a person residing in a settlement or farm associated with coal mining or charcoal production.
One of the earliest documented instances of the name Colton can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership and resources commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This record mentions several places in England with the name Colton, suggesting the name's usage at that time.
In the 13th century, a notable figure named Colton appeared in the historical records. Sir John Colton was a prominent English knight who served under Edward I and participated in the Scottish Wars of Independence. He was born around 1260 and played a significant role in the siege of Caerlaverock Castle in 1300.
Another historical figure bearing the name Colton was John Colton, an English prelate who served as the Archbishop of Armagh in Ireland from 1382 to 1404. He was a respected figure in the Catholic Church and played a crucial role in the ecclesiastical affairs of his time.
In the realm of literature, one of the earliest references to the name Colton can be found in the works of Geoffrey Chaucer, the renowned English poet and author of "The Canterbury Tales." In his poem "The Book of the Duchess," Chaucer mentions a character named "Sir Colton," indicating the name's usage during the late 14th century.
Moving forward in time, Sir Henry Colton was an influential English politician and judge who lived during the 16th century. He served as a Member of Parliament and later became a Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, further solidifying the name's presence in English history.
Another noteworthy figure was Samuel Colton, an American author and publisher born in 1822. He is best known for his works on the history and geography of the American West, including "A Tour of the Lakes" and "A Traveler's Guide to the American Scenery."
These examples illustrate the long-standing history and usage of the name Colton across various periods and contexts, ranging from military and religious figures to literary and political personalities, solidifying its enduring legacy as a given name with deep roots in English and Anglo-Saxon traditions.
People
Colton + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Colton 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
Colton: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Colton?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 146,704 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Colton 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 2,336 US residents.
Is Colton a common name?
We classify Colton as "Common". It ranks above 99.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 148,712 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Colton most popular?
The single biggest year for Colton was 2013, when 6,494 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Colton is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Colton in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 117,147 people with the name Colton, or 38.79 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #484 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 Colton 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 Colton?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Colton appears almost entirely male. Of the 117,141 people counted with this name, 99.8% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Colton?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Colton is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Hispanic (4.1%). 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 Colton most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Colton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (104,358 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 Colton in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Colton a male name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Colton 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 Colton still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Colton 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 Colton 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 people are called Colton?
You can see how many Americans are named Colton on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.