2000
#13,213
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,119
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.79
Rare Last name
Laxton
From a place name meaning "town of lakes" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,601 Americans carry the last name Laxton. That puts it at #12,950 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 131,778 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Laxton 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 Laxton with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.6K
1 in 131,778
Census rank
#12,950
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,268 bearers of the surname Laxton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12950th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Laxton, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Hispanic (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Laxton
The surname Laxton has its origins in England, dating back to at least the 13th century. It is believed to be a locational name derived from the village of Laxton in Nottinghamshire. The name is thought to come from the Old English words "leac" meaning leek and "tun" meaning enclosure or settlement, suggesting it was originally a place where leeks were grown.
The earliest known record of the surname Laxton appears in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, where a William de Laxington is mentioned. In the Subsidy Rolls of Nottinghamshire in 1327, a Robert de Laxyngton is recorded. These early spellings indicate the evolution of the name from its locational origins.
The Domesday Book of 1086 does not mention Laxton directly, but it does reference the nearby village of Muskham, which was later known as Muskham-and-Laxton. This suggests the Laxton settlement existed before the Norman Conquest.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Laxton was John Laxton (c.1370-c.1456), an English clergyman and scholar who served as the Chancellor of the University of Cambridge from 1443 to 1456.
Another notable figure was William Laxton (c.1556-1616), an English horticulturist and clergyman who is credited with introducing several new varieties of apples and pears to England, including the Laxton Superb apple.
In the 17th century, Thomas Laxton (1617-1688) was an English Baptist minister and author who wrote several religious works, including "The Watchman's Call" and "The Anabaptists' Congregational Way Vindicated."
A prominent figure in the 19th century was Edward Laxton (1797-1871), an English architect and surveyor who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Royal Polytechnic Institution and the Greenwich Royal Observatory.
Finally, one of the most famous individuals with the surname Laxton in more recent times was Thomas Laxton (1830-1893), an English horticulturist and plant breeder who developed several new varieties of fruits and vegetables, including the Laxton's Superb pea and the Laxton's Noble strawberry.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Laxton
Among Census respondents with the surname Laxton, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Hispanic (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Laxton 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 Laxton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.5% · 2,008
- Two or more races4.5% · 103
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 81
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 44
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 19
- Black or African American0.6% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Laxton
Laxton 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
#13,407
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,273
+154 bearers (+7.3%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Down 194 places
2020
#12,950
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,268
-5 bearers (-0.2%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Up 457 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,213 | 2,119 | 0.79 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,407 | 2,273 | 0.77 | +154 bearers (+7.3%) | Down 194 places |
| 2020 | #12,950 | 2,268 | 0.76 | -5 bearers (-0.2%) | Up 457 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 Laxton 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 | #13,407 | #12,950 | 3.4% |
| Count | 2,273 | 2,268 | -0.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.77 | 0.76 | -1.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Laxton bearers went from 2,273 to 2,268 (-0.2% change). The surname moved up 457 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,407 to #12,950.
FAQ
Laxton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Laxton?
Name Census estimates that about 2,601 living Americans carry the surname Laxton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 131,778 residents.
How common is Laxton?
Laxton ranks #12,950 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.76 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 2,268 people with the surname Laxton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,601), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.76 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 Laxton.
Has Laxton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Laxton went from 2,273 recorded bearers to 2,268. That is a decrease of 5 (-0.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,407 to #12,950.
What does the Census say about the background of Laxton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Laxton, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Laxton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.5% (2,008 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Laxton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.5%), Two or More Races (4.5%), Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Laxton (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 Laxton mean?
From a place name meaning "town of lakes" 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 Laxton (0.76 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 Laxton?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.