Rushton
From Old English meaning "rush settlement", referring to a place overgrown with rushes.
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the first name Rushton. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rushton today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rushton births was 2013 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rushton. 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
125
~ 1 in 2,742,035 Americans
Peak year
2013
13 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2021 SSA rank
#8,701
Tracked since 1987
Popularity
Rushton: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rushton from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 76 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rushton 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 Rushton 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 Rushton
The name Rushton is an English habitational surname that evolved into a rare given name. It derives from the Old English words "rysc" meaning rush and "tun" meaning an enclosure or settlement, referring to a place where rushes grew abundantly.
The earliest known recording of the name Rushton can be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was listed as "Riscetone" in Northamptonshire, England. This suggests the name's origins date back to Anglo-Saxon times, potentially as early as the 7th century AD.
In the Middle Ages, the name Rushton appeared in various historical records and documents, such as the Hundred Rolls of 1273 and the Feet of Fines for Yorkshire in 1347. These early references solidify the name's establishment in medieval England.
One of the earliest notable individuals bearing the name Rushton was Sir Geoffrey Rushton, a 14th-century English knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War. He participated in the Battle of Crécy in 1346 and was knighted for his bravery on the battlefield.
Another historical figure was Sir Edward Rushton, a 16th-century English politician and landowner. He served as a Member of Parliament for Liverpool in 1553 and played a role in the establishment of the town's governance during the reign of Queen Mary I.
In the realm of literature, the name Rushton is associated with the 17th-century English poet and playwright, Edward Rushton. He authored several plays, including "The Temporary Sharer" and "The Bankrupt," which were performed in London during the Restoration period.
The 18th century saw the rise of Reverend William Rushton, an English clergyman and author. He published various religious works, including "A Defence of Pluralities" in 1710, which addressed the controversial practice of holding multiple ecclesiastical benefices.
In more recent times, Sir Alan Rushton (1901-1983) was a prominent British civil engineer and industrialist. He served as the president of the Institution of Civil Engineers and played a significant role in the construction of the iconic Mulberry Harbours during World War II.
People
Rushton + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rushton as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Rushton: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rushton?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 125 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rushton 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 2,742,035 US residents.
Is Rushton a common name?
We classify Rushton as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 126 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rushton most popular?
The single biggest year for Rushton was 2013, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rushton is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Rushton a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rushton 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.