Vinton
From an English surname meaning "from the vine town" or "place of vines".
Name Census estimates that about 485 living Americans carry the first name Vinton. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Vinton today is around 55 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vinton births was 1916 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vinton. 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
485
~ 1 in 706,710 Americans
Peak year
1916
31 babies that year
Average age
55
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,087
Tracked since 1894
Popularity
Vinton: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vinton from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 188 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Vinton 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 Vinton during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Vintons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Iowa, Maine recorded the most babies named Vinton, while Maine, Iowa, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 5 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Vinton
The name Vinton is an English given name derived from the Old English word "vintun," which means "vine town" or "wine town." It likely originated as a surname or place name referring to a town or village known for its vineyards or wine production. The name has been in use since at least the 13th century.
In the early 15th century, a record shows a Vinton Baggot was appointed as a royal clerk in England. Later, in the 16th century, a Vinton Revell was listed as a prominent landowner in the county of Essex.
One of the earliest known individuals with the given name Vinton was Vinton Legar, an English merchant and explorer born around 1580. He is noted for his travels to the West Indies and his writings about the region's natural resources and indigenous peoples.
Another notable figure was Vinton Maddox (1733-1808), a British officer who served in the American Revolutionary War. He is remembered for his participation in the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Battle of Long Island.
In the United States, one of the most famous individuals with the name Vinton was Samuel Finley Vinton (1792-1862), a politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio. He was influential in the development of the modern-day public land survey system and the establishment of the Department of the Interior.
Another American of note was Vinton Liddell Pickens (1825-1892), a Confederate general during the American Civil War. He played a significant role in the Battle of Gettysburg and later served as a postmaster in South Carolina.
Lastly, Vinton Hay (1856-1939) was an American businessman and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia. He was involved in various business ventures, including coal mining and banking.
People
Vinton + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vinton as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with V
Other first names starting with V with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Vinton: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vinton?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 485 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vinton 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 706,710 US residents.
Is Vinton a common name?
We classify Vinton as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,068 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vinton most popular?
The single biggest year for Vinton was 1916, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vinton is about 55 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Vinton a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vinton 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.