Paiton
A feminine name of unknown origin, potentially meaning "peaceful valley".
Name Census estimates that about 1,344 living Americans carry the first name Paiton. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 87.9% of registrations being female. The average person named Paiton today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Paiton births was 2008 (119 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Paiton. 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
1.3K
~ 1 in 255,026 Americans
Peak year
2008
119 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2016 SSA rank
#13,675
Tracked since 1992
Gender
Gender distribution for Paiton
Paiton leans heavily female at 87.9% of total registrations, but 165 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Paiton as a male name
- Ranked #13,675 in 2016
- 5 male births in 2016
- Peak: 2010 (18 births)
Paiton as a female name
- Ranked #17,026 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2008 (109 births)
Popularity
Paiton: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Paiton from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 718 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Paiton 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 Paiton during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Paitons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. Texas, Ohio, California recorded the most babies named Paiton, while Tennessee, Michigan, Kentucky recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 17 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Paiton
The given name Paiton is believed to have originated from the Old English language, with its roots traced back to the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain, specifically the 5th to 11th centuries AD. The name is thought to be a variant of the Old English name Pæccian, which itself is derived from the word "pæcca," meaning "pouch" or "bag."
In the earliest recorded instances, Paiton was primarily used as a surname, often given to individuals whose occupation involved carrying or dealing with pouches or bags. However, over time, the name transitioned into being used as a given name, particularly in certain regions of England.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Paiton can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landowners and property compiled in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. The book lists several individuals with the surname Paiton, indicating the name's prevalence in certain areas of medieval England.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Paiton. One such figure was Sir John Paiton (c. 1350-1419), a prominent English knight who served under King Henry IV and participated in the Battle of Shrewsbury during the early 15th century.
Another notable Paiton was Thomas Paiton (c. 1490-1568), an English scholar and Catholic priest who served as the rector of Tredington in Worcestershire during the turbulent years of the English Reformation.
In the 17th century, a woman named Elizabeth Paiton (c. 1610-1679) gained recognition for her work as a midwife and herbalist in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare.
Moving forward to the 19th century, there was Samuel Paiton (1820-1901), a British engineer and inventor who contributed to the development of early steam engines and played a role in the Industrial Revolution.
Finally, in more recent times, there was the American artist and painter William Paiton (1901-1982), whose works were exhibited in various galleries and museums across the United States during the mid-20th century.
While the name Paiton may not be as common today as it once was, its rich history and origins in Old English language and culture make it a unique and intriguing choice for a given name, carrying with it echoes of a bygone era.
People
Paiton + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Paiton as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Paiton: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Paiton?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,344 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Paiton 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 255,026 US residents.
Is Paiton a common name?
We classify Paiton as "Rare". It ranks above 91.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,364 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Paiton most popular?
The single biggest year for Paiton was 2008, when 119 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Paiton is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Paiton a female name?
Yes, 87.9% of people registered as Paiton in the SSA data are female. 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.