Middleton
A place name referring to a town located in the middle.
Name Census estimates that about 7 living Americans carry the first name Middleton. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Middleton today is around 88 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Middleton births was 1918 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Middleton. 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 Middleton is about 88 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Middletons were born before 1948.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Middleton. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
7
~ 1 in 48,964,905 Americans
Peak year
1918
8 babies that year
Average age
88
years old
1947 SSA rank
#4,086
Tracked since 1915
Popularity
Middleton: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Middleton from the 1910s through to the 1940s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 13 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Middleton 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 Middleton 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 Middleton
The name Middleton has its origins in the Old English language, deriving from the words "middel" meaning middle and "tun" meaning town or village. This suggests that the name was initially used to refer to someone who lived in a town or settlement situated in the middle of a larger area or region.
The earliest recorded use of the name Middleton can be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landholdings and settlements commissioned by William the Conqueror after the Norman conquest of England. The name appears in this historical document, indicating its existence during the 11th century.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Middleton was Sir John Middleton, who lived in the 13th century and served as a knight and landowner in Yorkshire, England. Another notable figure was Sir Thomas Middleton, a 16th-century English playwright and poet, best known for his satirical works and collaborations with William Rowley and Thomas Dekker.
In the 17th century, Richard Middleton (c. 1655-1725) was an English churchman and scholar who served as the Bishop of St. Asaph and later became the Bishop of Worcester. He was known for his theological writings and his support for the Church of England during a period of religious turmoil.
Moving into the 18th century, Arthur Middleton (1742-1787) was a prominent American planter and politician from South Carolina. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and signed the United States Constitution, playing a significant role in the American Revolutionary War.
In the 19th century, Thomas Middleton (1809-1892) was a British civil engineer and surveyor who worked on major railway projects in England and Wales. He was responsible for the construction of several important railway lines, including the West Coast Main Line and the South Wales Railway.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Middleton, highlighting its long-standing presence and diverse backgrounds across various fields and professions.
People
Middleton + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Middleton as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Middleton: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Middleton?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Middleton 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 48,964,905 US residents.
Is Middleton a common name?
We classify Middleton as "Very Rare". It ranks above 23.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 34 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Middleton most popular?
The single biggest year for Middleton was 1918, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Middleton is about 88 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 Middleton in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Middleton a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Middleton 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 Middleton still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Middleton 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 Middleton 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 are named Middleton?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.