Find out how popular the last name Barton is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Barton.

Barton, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Barton surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Barton in America

Barton is the 488th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Barton surname appeared 68,233 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 23 people would have the surname Barton.

We can also compare 2010 data for Barton to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Barton

The surname Barton is an English locational name derived from the Old English words "bere" meaning "barley" and "tun" meaning "enclosure" or "farm". It refers to someone who lived in a settlement where barley was grown or near a barley farm.

The name has its origins in the county of Staffordshire, England, where it was first recorded in the late 11th century. One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which lists a landowner named Ralph de Bertone in Somerset.

In the 13th century, the name appeared in various spellings such as Bertun, Berton, and Barton. It was also closely associated with several places in England, including Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire, Barton-upon-Humber in Lincolnshire, and Barton in Cambridgeshire.

One notable bearer of the name was Sir Andrew Barton, a Scottish naval officer and privateer who lived in the late 15th century. He gained fame for his successful raids on English and Portuguese ships in the North Sea.

During the medieval period, the surname Barton was also found in various records, such as the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which listed William de Berton in Oxfordshire, and the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379, which included entries for John Barton and Thomas Barton.

In the 16th century, Benjamin Barton (1516-1598) was an English physician and writer who published works on natural history and medicine. Another notable figure was Elizabeth Barton (1506-1534), also known as the "Nun of Kent", who claimed to have prophetic visions and was eventually executed for treason against King Henry VIII.

Other notable bearers of the name include Sir Isaac Barton (1691-1765), an English lawyer and judge who served as a Justice of the King's Bench, and Bernard Barton (1784-1849), an English poet and writer from Suffolk.

Throughout its history, the surname Barton has been associated with various professions, including farming, military service, medicine, law, and literature, reflecting the diverse backgrounds of those who bore this name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Barton

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Barton.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Barton was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Barton has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Barton was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Barton, please contact us.

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