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

Overton, 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 Overton surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Overton in America

Overton is the 1914th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Overton surname appeared 18,820 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Overton.

We can also compare 2010 data for Overton 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 Overton

The surname Overton is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "ofer" meaning "over" and "tun" meaning "enclosure" or "settlement". It is a locational surname, referring to someone who lived near or came from a town or village called Overton.

Overton is a common place name found in various parts of England, with records indicating settlements of this name dating back to the 11th century. The earliest known mention of the surname Overton is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is recorded as "Ovretone" in Hampshire.

During the Middle Ages, the name Overton was predominantly concentrated in the counties of Hampshire, Wiltshire, and Shropshire, where several villages and parishes bore this name. The earliest recorded bearer of the surname Overton is William de Overton, who is mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Shropshire in 1199.

One notable Overton was John Overton (1601-1663), an English clergyman and author who served as the Bishop of Norwich. Another was Richard Overton (c. 1599-1664), an English pamphleteer and Leveller during the English Civil War, known for his writings advocating religious freedom and political reform.

In the 18th century, Robert Overton (1718-1793) was a prominent English architect who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Church of St. Mary's in Marylebone and the Seamen's Hospital in Deptford.

In the United States, one of the earliest recorded bearers of the Overton surname was John Overton (1766-1833), a prominent lawyer and politician from Tennessee. He served as a judge on the Tennessee Supreme Court and was a close friend of President Andrew Jackson.

Another notable American with this surname was Walter Hampton Overton (1892-1983), a distinguished artist and painter from Texas, known for his landscape and still life works depicting the American Southwest.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Overton

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

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 Overton 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 Overton 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 Overton was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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