2000
#548
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 54,875
First available Census row
Per 100,000 20.34
Uncommon Last name
Clayton
An English toponymic surname derived from various places meaning "clay settlement" or "settlement on clay soil."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 61,780 Americans carry the last name Clayton. That puts it at #611 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 18.02 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 5,548 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Clayton surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Clayton with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
62K
1 in 5,548
Census rank
#611
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
18.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
54K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 53,875 bearers of the surname Clayton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 18.02 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 611th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Clayton, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.7%. The next largest groups are Black (24.6%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Clayton
The surname Clayton is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "clæg" meaning clay or clay soil, and "tun" meaning an enclosure, farmstead, or village. It is believed to have originated in the 12th or 13th century as a locational surname, referring to someone who lived in or near a settlement situated on clay soil.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire from 1199, which mention a Richard de Cleiton. The Curia Regis Rolls of 1208 also reference a Robert de Cleiton from Yorkshire. These early spellings, such as Cleiton and Cleyton, were eventually standardized to the modern Clayton.
The name is also associated with several places in England, such as Clayton in Lancashire, Clayton in West Yorkshire, and Clayton in Sussex. Some of these place names can be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where they were recorded as Claitone or similar variations.
Notable historical figures with the surname Clayton include:
1. John Clayton (1693-1773), a renowned botanist and colonial official in Virginia.
2. Sir Robert Clayton (1629-1707), a wealthy merchant and Lord Mayor of London in 1679.
3. Thomas Clayton (1778-1858), an American portrait painter and engraver.
4. Augustin Clayton (1783-1839), an American lawyer and politician who served as Governor of Georgia.
5. Henry De Lamar Clayton (1857-1929), an American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded the Delta Air Lines.
Throughout its history, the surname Clayton has been associated with various occupations and achievements, from botany and art to politics and entrepreneurship, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and contributions of those who bore this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Clayton
Among Census respondents with the surname Clayton, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.7%. The next largest groups are Black (24.6%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Clayton bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Clayton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.7% · 35,908
- Black or African American24.6% · 13,240
- Two or more races4.4% · 2,391
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 1,740
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 341
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 255
Timeline
Historical Census data for Clayton
Clayton appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#595
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 56,638
+1,763 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 19.20
Rank movement Down 47 places
2020
#611
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 53,875
-2,763 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 18.02
Rank movement Down 16 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #548 | 54,875 | 20.34 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #595 | 56,638 | 19.20 | +1,763 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 47 places |
| 2020 | #611 | 53,875 | 18.02 | -2,763 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 16 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Clayton surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #595 | #611 | -2.7% |
| Count | 56,638 | 53,875 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 19.20 | 18.02 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Clayton bearers went from 56,638 to 53,875 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 16 positions in the national ranking, going from #595 to #611.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Clayton
FAQ
Clayton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Clayton?
Name Census estimates that about 61,780 living Americans carry the surname Clayton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 5,548 residents.
How common is Clayton?
Clayton ranks #611 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 18.02 per 100,000 residents, which is about 18 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 53,875 people with the surname Clayton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (61,780), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 18.02 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 18.02 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 18 of them to have the surname Clayton.
Has Clayton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Clayton went from 56,638 recorded bearers to 53,875. That is a decrease of 2,763 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #595 to #611.
What does the Census say about the background of Clayton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Clayton, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.7%. The next largest groups are Black (24.6%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Clayton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.7% (35,908 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Clayton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (66.7%), Black (24.6%), Two or More Races (4.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Clayton (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Clayton mean?
An English toponymic surname derived from various places meaning "clay settlement" or "settlement on clay soil." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Clayton (18.02 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Clayton?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.