2000
#1,440
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,773
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.44
Uncommon Last name
Payton
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "Pæga's town" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 25,931 Americans carry the last name Payton. That puts it at #1,549 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.57 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 13,218 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Payton 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 Payton with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
26K
1 in 13,218
Census rank
#1,549
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
23K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 22,613 bearers of the surname Payton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.57 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1549th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Payton, the largest self-reported group is White at 49.7%. The next largest groups are Black (40.4%) and Two or More Races (5.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Payton
The surname Payton originated in England during the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old English personal name "Pæga," which means "dweller by the pea-fields." The name was initially found in areas around Staffordshire and Worcestershire.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Peituna" and "Peitone." This ancient document, commissioned by William the Conqueror, recorded the landholdings and population of England at the time.
In the 13th century, the name was often spelled "Peiton" or "Peyton," reflecting the evolution of the English language over time. During this period, the surname Payton was also associated with various place names, such as Peyton in Suffolk and Peytonville in Staffordshire.
Notable bearers of the name Payton throughout history include Sir John Peyton (1544-1630), an English politician and landowner who served as Lieutenant of the Tower of London under Queen Elizabeth I. Another prominent figure was Sir Edward Payton (1588-1667), a military commander who fought in the English Civil War on the Royalist side.
In the 18th century, John Payton (1703-1763) was a prominent English lawyer and Chief Justice of the British colony of St. Kitts and Nevis in the West Indies. His contemporary, Joseph Payton (1720-1784), was a British naval captain who participated in several battles during the American Revolutionary War.
Moving into the 19th century, the name gained further recognition with the birth of Thomas Payton (1818-1890), a renowned English architect known for his work on churches and public buildings in London and the surrounding areas.
Throughout its history, the surname Payton has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including politicians, military leaders, lawyers, architects, and countless others who have contributed to the rich tapestry of human civilization.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Payton
Among Census respondents with the surname Payton, the largest self-reported group is White at 49.7%. The next largest groups are Black (40.4%) and Two or More Races (5.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Payton 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 Payton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White49.7% · 11,237
- Black or African American40.4% · 9,145
- Two or more races5.4% · 1,212
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 735
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 170
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 114
Timeline
Historical Census data for Payton
Payton 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
#1,515
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,670
+897 bearers (+3.9%)
Per 100,000 8.02
Rank movement Down 75 places
2020
#1,549
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,613
-1,057 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 7.57
Rank movement Down 34 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,440 | 22,773 | 8.44 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,515 | 23,670 | 8.02 | +897 bearers (+3.9%) | Down 75 places |
| 2020 | #1,549 | 22,613 | 7.57 | -1,057 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 34 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 Payton 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 | #1,515 | #1,549 | -2.2% |
| Count | 23,670 | 22,613 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 8.02 | 7.57 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Payton bearers went from 23,670 to 22,613 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 34 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,515 to #1,549.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Payton
FAQ
Payton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Payton?
Name Census estimates that about 25,931 living Americans carry the surname Payton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 13,218 residents.
How common is Payton?
Payton ranks #1,549 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.57 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 22,613 people with the surname Payton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (25,931), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.57 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.57 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Payton.
Has Payton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Payton went from 23,670 recorded bearers to 22,613. That is a decrease of 1,057 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,515 to #1,549.
What does the Census say about the background of Payton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Payton, the largest self-reported group is White at 49.7%. The next largest groups are Black (40.4%) and Two or More Races (5.4%). 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 Payton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.7% (11,237 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Payton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (49.7%), Black (40.4%), Two or More Races (5.4%). 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 Payton (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 Payton mean?
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "Pæga's town" 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 Payton (7.57 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 are called Payton?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Payton at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.