Dulton
A masculine name of uncertain origin and meaning, possibly related to words meaning "valley" or "stream".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Dulton. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dulton today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dulton births was 1993 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dulton. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Dulton. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1993
5 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
1993 SSA rank
#9,147
Tracked since 1993
Popularity
Dulton: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Dulton 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 Dulton during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Dulton
The given name Dulton is an archaic English name that traces its roots back to the Anglo-Saxon era. It is derived from the Old English words "dol" meaning foolish or dull, and "tun" meaning a town or settlement. The name likely originated as a descriptive term for someone who was perceived as dull-witted or slow, residing in a particular town or village.
Historically, the name Dulton was more commonly found in rural areas of England, particularly in the counties of Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk. Its earliest recorded use dates back to the 11th century, appearing in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landowners and tenants commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086.
One notable historical figure bearing the name Dulton was Sir Dulton de Bray, a Norman knight who fought alongside King Richard I in the Third Crusade during the late 12th century. Another early example is Dulton of Bury St. Edmunds, a Benedictine monk and chronicler who lived in the early 13th century and authored several influential manuscripts on the history of his monastery.
During the Middle Ages, the name Dulton was relatively rare but persisted among the English peasantry. In 1457, a farmer named Dulton Pynchbeck was recorded as a landowner in the village of Pynchbeck, Lincolnshire. A century later, in 1567, a court record mentions a Dulton Woodroffe, who was accused of poaching on the lands of a local nobleman in Somerset.
As the use of surnames became more widespread in the late medieval period, the given name Dulton gradually fell out of favor. However, it experienced a brief resurgence in the 17th century, with several notable individuals bearing the name. These include Dulton Cambrell (1595-1657), a renowned English playwright and poet, and Dulton Fairfax (1612-1672), a prominent military commander during the English Civil War.
While the name Dulton is now considered archaic and rarely used in modern times, it serves as a fascinating glimpse into the linguistic and cultural history of England, reflecting the simple lifestyles and descriptive naming practices of bygone eras.
People
Dulton + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dulton as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Dulton: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dulton?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dulton 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Dulton a common name?
We classify Dulton as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dulton most popular?
The single biggest year for Dulton was 1993, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dulton is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Dulton in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dulton a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dulton 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 Dulton still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dulton 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 Dulton 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Dulton as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.