2000
#12,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,271
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.84
Rare Last name
Henton
Derived from a place name meaning "high town" or "town on a hill" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,290 Americans carry the last name Henton. That puts it at #14,405 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 149,674 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Henton 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 Henton with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.3K
1 in 149,674
Census rank
#14,405
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,997 bearers of the surname Henton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14405th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Henton, the largest self-reported group is White at 45.6%. The next largest groups are Black (45.3%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Henton
The surname Henton is of English origin, derived from the locational name of several places in England, such as Hinton in Somerset, Henton in Oxfordshire, and Henton in Hampshire. The name is believed to have originated from the Old English word "henn" meaning "high" and "tun" meaning "enclosure" or "settlement," referring to a settlement located on high ground.
The earliest recorded mention of the surname Henton can be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Hentone" in reference to landholders in various counties of England. This suggests that the name was already well-established by the late 11th century.
During the medieval period, the surname Henton appeared in various historical records and manuscripts, such as the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1307, which mentions a Thomas de Henton. The Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327 also listed a John Henton as a taxpayer.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Sir Walter de Henton, a knight who served under King Edward III during the Hundred Years' War in the 14th century. He was present at the Battle of Crécy in 1346 and the Siege of Calais in 1347.
In the 15th century, John Henton (c. 1420-1485) was an English landowner and member of parliament who represented Hampshire in the House of Commons during the reigns of Henry VI and Edward IV.
During the Tudor period, Richard Henton (c. 1505-1570) was a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of London. He served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1567-1568.
In the 17th century, Sir Edward Henton (1624-1693) was an English politician and baronet who served as a Member of Parliament for Hampshire in the Cavalier Parliament from 1661 to 1679.
Another notable figure was William Henton (1683-1765), an English clergyman and academic who served as the President of Magdalen College, Oxford, from 1748 until his death.
While the surname Henton has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, it has persisted and can still be found in various parts of England, as well as in other English-speaking countries where descendants of Henton families have migrated.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Henton
Among Census respondents with the surname Henton, the largest self-reported group is White at 45.6%. The next largest groups are Black (45.3%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Henton 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 Henton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White45.6% · 911
- Black or African American45.3% · 905
- Two or more races4.7% · 93
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 70
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Henton
Henton 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
#13,186
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,318
+47 bearers (+2.1%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Down 675 places
2020
#14,405
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,997
-321 bearers (-13.8%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Down 1,219 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,511 | 2,271 | 0.84 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,186 | 2,318 | 0.79 | +47 bearers (+2.1%) | Down 675 places |
| 2020 | #14,405 | 1,997 | 0.67 | -321 bearers (-13.8%) | Down 1,219 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 Henton 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 | #13,186 | #14,405 | -9.2% |
| Count | 2,318 | 1,997 | -13.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.79 | 0.67 | -15.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Henton bearers went from 2,318 to 1,997 (-13.8% change). The surname moved down 1,219 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,186 to #14,405.
FAQ
Henton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Henton?
Name Census estimates that about 2,290 living Americans carry the surname Henton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 149,674 residents.
How common is Henton?
Henton ranks #14,405 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.67 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,997 people with the surname Henton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,290), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.67 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Henton.
Has Henton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Henton went from 2,318 recorded bearers to 1,997. That is a decrease of 321 (-13.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,186 to #14,405.
What does the Census say about the background of Henton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Henton, the largest self-reported group is White at 45.6%. The next largest groups are Black (45.3%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Henton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.6% (911 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Henton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (45.6%), Black (45.3%), Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Henton (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 Henton mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "high town" or "town on a hill" 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 Henton (0.67 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 share the surname Henton?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.