Bunton last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Bunton

Derived from a place name meaning "town in the hollow" in Old English.

Bunton, 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 Bunton surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bunton in America

Bunton is the 7899th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bunton surname appeared 4,191 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Bunton.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bunton 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 7899 7765 1.71%
Count 4,191 3,946 6.02%
Proportion per 100k 1.42 1.46 -2.78%

The history of the last name Bunton

The surname Bunton originated in England during the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "bun," meaning a small hill or mound, and the suffix "-ton," which denotes a farm or settlement. This suggests that the name likely referred to someone who lived on or near a small hill or raised ground.

The earliest known record of the Bunton surname dates back to the 13th century, when it appeared in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire, a census-like document compiled in 1273. One of the earliest recorded instances was John de Bunton, mentioned in the rolls as residing in the village of Bunton, Oxfordshire.

In the 14th century, the name was also found in the records of the nearby county of Berkshire, with references to a William de Bunton in 1327 and a John Bunton in 1381. These records indicate that the name was well-established in the southern part of England during the Middle Ages.

The Bunton surname is not found in the Domesday Book, the famous survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This suggests that the name likely emerged later, possibly as a result of the Norman Conquest and the subsequent influence of French language and culture on English place names.

Notable individuals with the surname Bunton throughout history include:

  1. John Bunton (c. 1630-1707), an English Puritan minister and author who served as the rector of St. Stephen's Church in Bristol.

  2. William Bunton (1633-1693), an English writer and traveler who authored a book titled "The Travels of William Bunton, or, A Sure and Speedy Way to Preferment" in 1687.

  3. Samuel Bunton (1628-1692), an English dissenting minister and educator who established a school in Coventry.

  4. Thomas Bunton (1778-1846), a British architect and surveyor who designed several churches and public buildings in London.

  5. James Bunton (1778-1853), an English landscape painter known for his depictions of rural scenes and landscapes.

While the Bunton surname has its origins in southern England, it eventually spread to other parts of the country and even to other English-speaking regions as a result of migration and settlement patterns.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bunton

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

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 Bunton was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 65.76% 2,756
Non-Hispanic Black Only 26.80% 1,123
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.64% 27
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.81% 34
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.96% 124
Hispanic Origin 3.03% 127

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 Bunton has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 65.76% 68.65% -4.30%
Black 26.80% 27.22% -1.55%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.64% 0.38% 50.98%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.81% 0.53% 41.79%
Two or More Races 2.96% 1.62% 58.52%
Hispanic 3.03% 1.60% 61.77%

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 Bunton was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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"Bunton last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/bunton-surname-popularity/.

"Bunton last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/bunton-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 December, 2024

Bunton last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/bunton-surname-popularity/.

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