2000
#3,957
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,237
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.05
Rare Last name
Dayton
Habitational surname derived from any of the various places named Dayton, likely meaning "settlement by the ditch."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,332 Americans carry the last name Dayton. That puts it at #4,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 36,729 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dayton 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 Dayton with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.3K
1 in 36,729
Census rank
#4,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,138 bearers of the surname Dayton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dayton, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dayton
The surname Dayton has its roots in England, where it originated as a locational name derived from the place name Dayton, a town in Shropshire. This place name itself comes from the Old English words "dæg" meaning "day" and "tun" meaning "enclosure" or "settlement." Thus, the name Dayton essentially means "the enclosure or settlement where daybreak occurs."
The earliest known record of the surname Dayton dates back to the 13th century, appearing in the Pipe Rolls of Shropshire in 1275 as "Adam de Dayeton." This suggests that the name was already well-established by that time, likely originating several centuries earlier.
In the 14th century, the surname is found in various records, including the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327, where it appears as "Robertus de Daytone." The Hundred Rolls of Berkshire from 1273 also mention a "Willelmus de Daitone."
One notable figure bearing the surname Dayton was Sir Robert Dayton (c. 1530-1607), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Northamptonshire. Another early bearer of the name was William Dayton (1592-1669), an English colonial settler who emigrated to New England in the 17th century and became one of the founders of the town of Hampton, New Hampshire.
In the 18th century, Jonathan Dayton (1760-1824) was a prominent American politician and Revolutionary War veteran who served as the third Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. The city of Dayton, Ohio, was named after him in 1805.
Other notable individuals with the surname Dayton include William Lewis Dayton (1807-1864), an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States Minister to France, and Horace Dayton (1810-1870), an American engineer and inventor who patented several innovations in the field of firearms manufacturing.
Throughout its history, the surname Dayton has been subject to various spellings, including Daitone, Daytone, and Daiton, reflecting the regional variations and phonetic adaptations common in English surnames. However, the core meaning and origin of the name remain rooted in the Old English words that gave rise to the original place name Dayton.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dayton
Among Census respondents with the surname Dayton, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Dayton 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 Dayton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.4% · 7,277
- Two or more races3.7% · 301
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 274
- Black or African American1.3% · 105
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 99
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 82
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dayton
Dayton 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
#4,173
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,494
+257 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 2.88
Rank movement Down 216 places
2020
#4,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,138
-356 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 2.72
Rank movement Down 48 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,957 | 8,237 | 3.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,173 | 8,494 | 2.88 | +257 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 216 places |
| 2020 | #4,221 | 8,138 | 2.72 | -356 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 48 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 Dayton 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 | #4,173 | #4,221 | -1.2% |
| Count | 8,494 | 8,138 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 2.88 | 2.72 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dayton bearers went from 8,494 to 8,138 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 48 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,173 to #4,221.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Dayton
FAQ
Dayton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dayton?
Name Census estimates that about 9,332 living Americans carry the surname Dayton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 36,729 residents.
How common is Dayton?
Dayton ranks #4,221 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.72 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,138 people with the surname Dayton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,332), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.72 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.72 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Dayton.
Has Dayton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dayton went from 8,494 recorded bearers to 8,138. That is a decrease of 356 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,173 to #4,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Dayton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dayton, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Dayton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.4% (7,277 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dayton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.4%), Two or More Races (3.7%), Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Dayton (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 Dayton mean?
Habitational surname derived from any of the various places named Dayton, likely meaning "settlement by the ditch." 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 Dayton (2.72 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 people are called Dayton?
Want to know how common the surname Dayton is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.