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

Creighton, 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 Creighton surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Creighton in America

Creighton is the 4840th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Creighton surname appeared 7,282 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Creighton.

We can also compare 2010 data for Creighton 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 Creighton

The surname Creighton originates from Scotland, dating back to the 12th century. It is an Anglo-Scottish territorial surname derived from the lands of Crichton in Midlothian, near Edinburgh. The name is thought to have derived from the Gaelic "crioch-tun," meaning "boundary village" or "village on the march."

One of the earliest recorded references to the name appears in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of homage rolls to King Edward I of England. In these rolls, the name is spelled as "Crichtoun." The Crichton family was a prominent Scottish family that held the lands of Crichton for centuries.

In the 14th century, the Crichtons were closely associated with the Scottish royal court, and several members held significant positions of power. Sir William Crichton (c. 1400-1454) served as Lord Chancellor of Scotland and was a prominent figure during the reign of King James II.

The Creighton spelling emerged as a variant of the original Crichton name. In the 15th century, a branch of the Crichton family settled in Ireland and adopted the Creighton spelling. The earliest known bearer of the Creighton spelling was Sir John Creighton, who was appointed Lord Chancellor of Ireland in 1440.

Other notable individuals with the Creighton surname include:

1. Robert Creighton (c. 1593-1672), an English Puritan clergyman and writer.
2. Mandell Creighton (1843-1901), an English historian and Bishop of London.
3. John Creighton (1856-1936), an American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded the Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.
4. James Creighton (1830-1901), an American businessman and politician who served as the 12th Governor of Nebraska.
5. Wilfred Creighton (1902-1973), a Canadian aviation pioneer and co-founder of the Creighton Aviation Company.

The Creighton surname has a rich history spanning several centuries and has been carried by notable individuals in various fields, including politics, religion, business, and aviation.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Creighton

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

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

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

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