2000
#485
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 61,805
First available Census row
Per 100,000 22.91
Uncommon Last name
Norton
An English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "north settlement" or "north town."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 68,421 Americans carry the last name Norton. That puts it at #556 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 19.96 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 5,009 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Norton 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 Norton with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
68K
1 in 5,009
Census rank
#556
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
20.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
60K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 59,666 bearers of the surname Norton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 19.96 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 556th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Norton, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.0%. The next largest groups are Black (6.2%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Norton
The surname NORTON is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "nor" meaning north and "tun" meaning a town or settlement. It likely originated as a place name referring to a northern town or village. The name can be traced back to the 11th century and is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of landowners in England and Wales commissioned by William the Conqueror.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name NORTON is in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1176, where a Richard de Norton is mentioned. The surname also appears in various charters and land records from the 13th and 14th centuries in various counties across England, suggesting its widespread use during this time period.
The NORTON surname is often associated with places like Norton, a village in Northamptonshire, and Norton-on-Derwent, a town in Yorkshire. Variations in spelling include Nortune, Northtun, and Northtone, reflecting the evolution of the name over time.
Notable individuals with the surname NORTON throughout history include:
1. Thomas Norton (c. 1532-1584), an English lawyer, writer, and member of Parliament during the reign of Elizabeth I.
2. John Norton (1606-1663), a Puritan minister and one of the founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in America.
3. Caroline Elizabeth Sarah Norton (1808-1877), an English feminist and social reformer known for her work on child custody laws.
4. Charles Eliot Norton (1827-1908), an American author, editor, and professor at Harvard University.
5. Andre Norton (1912-2005), an American writer of science fiction and fantasy novels, often considered a pioneer in the genre.
The NORTON surname has a rich history dating back to medieval England, with its origins likely rooted in place names denoting northern settlements. Over the centuries, it has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including lawyers, ministers, writers, and academics, contributing to the cultural and intellectual fabric of societies across the English-speaking world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Norton
Among Census respondents with the surname Norton, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.0%. The next largest groups are Black (6.2%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Norton 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 Norton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.0% · 50,704
- Black or African American6.2% · 3,707
- Two or more races3.8% · 2,260
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 1,895
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 657
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 443
Timeline
Historical Census data for Norton
Norton 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
#531
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 63,722
+1,917 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 21.60
Rank movement Down 46 places
2020
#556
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 59,666
-4,056 bearers (-6.4%)
Per 100,000 19.96
Rank movement Down 25 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #485 | 61,805 | 22.91 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #531 | 63,722 | 21.60 | +1,917 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 46 places |
| 2020 | #556 | 59,666 | 19.96 | -4,056 bearers (-6.4%) | Down 25 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 Norton 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 | #531 | #556 | -4.7% |
| Count | 63,722 | 59,666 | -6.4% |
| Per 100K | 21.60 | 19.96 | -7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Norton bearers went from 63,722 to 59,666 (-6.4% change). The surname moved down 25 positions in the national ranking, going from #531 to #556.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Norton
FAQ
Norton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Norton?
Name Census estimates that about 68,421 living Americans carry the surname Norton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 5,009 residents.
How common is Norton?
Norton ranks #556 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 19.96 per 100,000 residents, which is about 20 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 59,666 people with the surname Norton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (68,421), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 19.96 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 19.96 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 20 of them to have the surname Norton.
Has Norton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Norton went from 63,722 recorded bearers to 59,666. That is a decrease of 4,056 (-6.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #531 to #556.
What does the Census say about the background of Norton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Norton, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.0%. The next largest groups are Black (6.2%) 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 Norton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.0% (50,704 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Norton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.0%), Black (6.2%), 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 Norton (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 Norton mean?
An English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "north settlement" or "north town." 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 Norton (19.96 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 Norton?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.