2000
#2,404
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,829
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.13
Uncommon Last name
Deaton
Derived from a place name meaning "valley town" in Old English, referring to someone who lived there.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 15,175 Americans carry the last name Deaton. That puts it at #2,658 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.43 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 22,587 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Deaton 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 Deaton with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
15K
1 in 22,587
Census rank
#2,658
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
13K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,233 bearers of the surname Deaton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.43 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2658th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Deaton, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Deaton
The surname Deaton is of English origin and is believed to have originated in the 13th century. It is a locational name derived from the place name Deighton, which was found in various parts of England, including Yorkshire, Northamptonshire, and Gloucestershire.
The name Deighton itself is thought to have evolved from the Old English words "deag" meaning "dye" and "tun" meaning "farm" or "settlement." This suggests that the name may have been associated with a settlement or area where dyeing activities took place.
Early records of the name can be found in various historical documents. For instance, the Deaton surname appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327, where a John de Deyton is mentioned. In the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire from 1379, a Thomas de Deghton is recorded.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Deaton surname can be found in the Calendars of Wills and Administrations in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, where a William Deyton from Coventry is mentioned in 1486.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Deaton. One such person was Sir Thomas Deighton (1628-1689), an English merchant and politician who served as Lord Mayor of York from 1683 to 1684.
Another notable figure was Richard Deaton (1610-1655), an English clergyman and academic who served as Master of Pembroke College, Oxford, from 1642 to 1655.
In the literary world, there was John Deighton (1830-1875), an English writer and journalist who published several novels and works of non-fiction in the mid-19th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Deaton spelling can be found in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1334, where a John Deyaton is mentioned.
In the United States, one notable individual with the Deaton surname was Phillip R. Deaton (1918-1997), a chemist and educator who served as the 15th president of Kansas State University from 1975 to 1986.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Deaton
Among Census respondents with the surname Deaton, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Deaton 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 Deaton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.7% · 11,999
- Two or more races3.9% · 519
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 375
- Black or African American1.1% · 151
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 111
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 78
Timeline
Historical Census data for Deaton
Deaton 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
#2,572
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,052
+223 bearers (+1.6%)
Per 100,000 4.76
Rank movement Down 168 places
2020
#2,658
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,233
-819 bearers (-5.8%)
Per 100,000 4.43
Rank movement Down 86 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,404 | 13,829 | 5.13 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,572 | 14,052 | 4.76 | +223 bearers (+1.6%) | Down 168 places |
| 2020 | #2,658 | 13,233 | 4.43 | -819 bearers (-5.8%) | Down 86 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 Deaton 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 | #2,572 | #2,658 | -3.3% |
| Count | 14,052 | 13,233 | -5.8% |
| Per 100K | 4.76 | 4.43 | -7.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Deaton bearers went from 14,052 to 13,233 (-5.8% change). The surname moved down 86 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,572 to #2,658.
FAQ
Deaton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Deaton?
Name Census estimates that about 15,175 living Americans carry the surname Deaton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 22,587 residents.
How common is Deaton?
Deaton ranks #2,658 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.43 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 13,233 people with the surname Deaton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (15,175), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.43 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.43 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Deaton.
Has Deaton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Deaton went from 14,052 recorded bearers to 13,233. That is a decrease of 819 (-5.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,572 to #2,658.
What does the Census say about the background of Deaton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Deaton, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Deaton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.7% (11,999 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Deaton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.7%), Two or More Races (3.9%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Deaton (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 Deaton mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "valley town" in Old English, referring to someone who lived there. 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 Deaton (4.43 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 Deaton?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Deaton, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.