2000
#676
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 46,403
First available Census row
Per 100,000 17.20
Uncommon Last name
Eaton
Derived from a place name meaning "riverside settlement" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 51,411 Americans carry the last name Eaton. That puts it at #756 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 15.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 6,667 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Eaton 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 Eaton with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
51K
1 in 6,667
Census rank
#756
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
15.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
45K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 44,833 bearers of the surname Eaton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 15.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 756th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Eaton, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.8%. The next largest groups are Black (9.5%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Eaton
The surname EATON originated in England during the Anglo-Saxon period. It is derived from the Old English words "ea" meaning river and "tun" meaning town or settlement, referring to a town or village situated near a river. The name was originally written as "Eatun" or "Etone".
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name EATON appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of landowners commissioned by William the Conqueror. Several individuals with the surname EATON were listed as landowners in various counties, including Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and Warwickshire.
During the Middle Ages, the name EATON was often associated with place names, such as Eton in Buckinghamshire and Eaton in Cheshire. The spelling variations included Eton, Etone, Eyton, and Eytone. Some notable individuals with the surname EATON from this period include William Eaton (c. 1350 - 1420), a Member of Parliament for Leicestershire, and John Eaton (c. 1380 - 1456), a clergyman and scholar at Oxford University.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the EATON surname became more widespread across England. Theophilus Eaton (1590 - 1658) was a prominent merchant and one of the founders of the Colony of New Haven in Connecticut. Another notable figure was Samuel Eaton (1596 - 1665), a Puritan minister and co-founder of Harvard College.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, several individuals with the surname EATON achieved distinction in various fields. William Eaton (1764 - 1811) was a United States Army officer and diplomat who led an expedition to Tripoli during the Barbary Wars. Cyrus Eaton (1786 - 1876) was a successful businessman and abolitionist from Massachusetts. Dorman Bridgman Eaton (1823 - 1899) was a prominent civil service reformer and lawyer.
Other notable individuals with the surname EATON include Wyatt Eaton (1849 - 1896), a Canadian photographer and painter, and Walter Prichard Eaton (1878 - 1957), an American author and literary critic. The name EATON has been carried by individuals from various walks of life throughout history, reflecting its widespread distribution across England and its enduring legacy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Eaton
Among Census respondents with the surname Eaton, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.8%. The next largest groups are Black (9.5%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Eaton 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 Eaton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.8% · 36,674
- Black or African American9.5% · 4,280
- Two or more races3.8% · 1,722
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 1,529
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 319
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 309
Timeline
Historical Census data for Eaton
Eaton 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
#740
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 47,184
+781 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 16.00
Rank movement Down 64 places
2020
#756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 44,833
-2,351 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 15.00
Rank movement Down 16 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #676 | 46,403 | 17.20 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #740 | 47,184 | 16.00 | +781 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 64 places |
| 2020 | #756 | 44,833 | 15.00 | -2,351 bearers (-5.0%) | 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 Eaton 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 | #740 | #756 | -2.2% |
| Count | 47,184 | 44,833 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 16.00 | 15.00 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Eaton bearers went from 47,184 to 44,833 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 16 positions in the national ranking, going from #740 to #756.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Eaton
FAQ
Eaton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Eaton?
Name Census estimates that about 51,411 living Americans carry the surname Eaton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 6,667 residents.
How common is Eaton?
Eaton ranks #756 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 15.00 per 100,000 residents, which is about 15 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 44,833 people with the surname Eaton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (51,411), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 15.00 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 15 of them to have the surname Eaton.
Has Eaton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Eaton went from 47,184 recorded bearers to 44,833. That is a decrease of 2,351 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #740 to #756.
What does the Census say about the background of Eaton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Eaton, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.8%. The next largest groups are Black (9.5%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Eaton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.8% (36,674 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Eaton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.8%), Black (9.5%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Eaton (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 Eaton mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "riverside settlement" in Old English. 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 Eaton (15.00 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 common is the surname Eaton?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Eaton at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.