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

Saxton, 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 Saxton surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Saxton in America

Saxton is the 3726th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Saxton surname appeared 9,509 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Saxton.

We can also compare 2010 data for Saxton 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 Saxton

The surname Saxton has its origins in England, traced back to the Anglo-Saxon era, specifically the 7th to 11th centuries. It is derived from the Old English word "Seaxan," which means "Saxon," referring to the Germanic people who settled in parts of Britain during this period.

In the early medieval period, the name was often found in areas of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, where many Saxon settlements were established. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of land and property ownership commissioned by William the Conqueror after the Norman Conquest.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John Saxton, a 16th-century cartographer and surveyor who created the first county maps of England and Wales. Born around 1542, Saxton's detailed maps were highly regarded and influential in their time.

Another notable figure with this surname was Sir Charles Saxton, a 17th-century English admiral and politician. He served as a Member of Parliament and played a significant role in the English Civil War, supporting the Parliamentarian cause against King Charles I.

In the 18th century, Joseph Saxton was a prominent English clergyman and author. Born in 1733, he wrote several theological works and served as the rector of Sutton Courtenay in Berkshire.

During the 19th century, Sir Walter Saxton was a British naval officer who distinguished himself in the Napoleonic Wars. He was born in 1786 and rose to the rank of Vice Admiral in the Royal Navy.

One of the most famous bearers of the Saxton name was the American inventor and industrialist, Elmer Ambrose Sperry, born in 1860. His mother's maiden name was Saxton, and he is credited with pioneering innovations in gyroscopic technology and automatic pilots for ships and aircraft.

The Saxton surname can also be found in various place names throughout England, such as Saxton in Yorkshire, which was likely derived from the Old English word "Seaxa-tun," meaning "the Saxon settlement."

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Saxton

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

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

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

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