Find out how popular the last name Lytton is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Lytton.

Lytton, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Lytton surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lytton in America

Lytton is the 21119th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lytton surname appeared 1,243 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Lytton.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lytton to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Lytton

The surname Lytton is of English origin, derived from the place name Lytton in Hertfordshire. It is believed to have originated as a habitational name, given to someone who lived near or came from the village of Lytton.

The name Lytton can be traced back to the 11th century, with the earliest recorded spelling appearing in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Lyttone." This entry referred to the village itself, which was then a small settlement in Hertfordshire.

The name Lytton is thought to be derived from the Old English words "lyt" meaning "small" and "tun" meaning "farm" or "settlement." This suggests that the original Lytton was a small farm or hamlet.

One of the earliest known bearers of the surname Lytton was Sir Robert Lytton, who was born around 1300 and served as a knight in the service of King Edward III. He was recorded as holding lands in Hertfordshire and Essex.

In the 15th century, the Lytton family became prominent landowners in Knebworth, Hertfordshire. This area was the ancestral seat of the Lytton family for several generations. The Lytton estate in Knebworth was later inherited by the famous novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803-1873), who is best known for his opening line "It was a dark and stormy night."

Another notable figure with the surname Lytton was William Lytton, who was born around 1580 in Knebworth. He served as a member of Parliament and was involved in the English Civil War, supporting the Parliamentarian cause.

In the 18th century, Sir Richard Lytton (1733-1810) was a British diplomat and politician. He served as the Governor of Guadeloupe and later as the Governor of Jamaica.

A more recent bearer of the Lytton name was Constance Lytton (1869-1923), who was a prominent British suffragette and activist for women's rights. She was imprisoned several times for her involvement in the suffrage movement.

The surname Lytton has also been found in various spellings over the centuries, including Litton, Lytone, and Lyttone, reflecting the evolution of the English language and regional variations in pronunciation and spelling.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lytton

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Lytton.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Lytton was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Lytton has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Lytton was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Lytton, please contact us.

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