Lofton
An English surname derived from a place name meaning "lofty town".
Name Census estimates that about 428 living Americans carry the first name Lofton. It is a predominantly male name (98.5% of registrations). The average person named Lofton today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lofton births was 2018 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lofton. 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
428
~ 1 in 800,828 Americans
Peak year
2018
20 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,065
Tracked since 1886
Gender
Gender distribution for Lofton
Lofton leans heavily male at 98.5% of total registrations, but 10 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Lofton as a male name
- Ranked #7,065 in 2024
- 12 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2018 (20 births)
Lofton as a female name
- Ranked #16,531 in 2020
- 5 female births in 2020
- Peak: 2019 (5 births)
Popularity
Lofton: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lofton from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 146 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Lofton remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lofton 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 Lofton during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Loftons live
Origin
Meaning and history of Lofton
The given name Lofton has its roots in Old English, originating from the word "loft," which referred to an upper room or an attic in a building. The name likely emerged during the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain, which spanned from the 5th to the 11th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Lofton can be traced back to the 13th century in England. It was initially a surname, often given to individuals who lived or worked in the loft areas of buildings or resided in areas with elevated terrain.
As time progressed, Lofton transitioned from being a surname to a given name, although its usage remained relatively uncommon. Some historians suggest that the name may have been influenced by the Old Norse word "lopt," which also meant an upper room or an elevated space.
In the 16th century, a notable figure named Lofton Billingsley was recorded in historical documents as a prominent merchant and landowner in Gloucestershire, England. He was born around 1520 and played a significant role in the local community during his lifetime.
Another historical figure with the name Lofton was a Scottish soldier, Lofton MacGregor, who served in the Scottish Highland regiments during the 17th century. He participated in various military campaigns and battles, but little is known about his specific birth and death dates.
During the 18th century, a well-known English artist named Lofton Hartwell gained recognition for his landscape paintings and portraits. He was born in 1735 in London and exhibited his works at the Royal Academy of Arts until his death in 1801.
In the 19th century, Lofton Caulfield was a prominent educator and writer from Virginia, United States. He authored several books on education and taught at various schools and academies during his lifetime, which spanned from 1812 to 1894.
Another notable figure from the 19th century was Lofton Abercrombie, a Scottish architect and civil engineer. He was born in 1820 in Edinburgh and contributed to several significant infrastructure projects, including the construction of bridges and railways, until his death in 1892.
While the name Lofton may have experienced periods of relative obscurity throughout history, it has maintained a unique connection to its Old English origins and has been carried by various individuals across different eras and professions.
People
Lofton + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lofton as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lofton: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lofton?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 428 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lofton 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 800,828 US residents.
Is Lofton a common name?
We classify Lofton as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 684 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lofton most popular?
The single biggest year for Lofton was 2018, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lofton is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Lofton a male name?
Yes, 98.5% of people registered as Lofton 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.
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.