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

Scranton, 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 Scranton surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Scranton in America

Scranton is the 13010th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Scranton surname appeared 2,359 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Scranton.

We can also compare 2010 data for Scranton 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 Scranton

The surname Scranton has its origins in England, where it first appeared in the early 13th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "scra" and "tun," meaning a small village or farm located on a steep slope or cliff.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Scranton can be found in the Feet of Fines records for Yorkshire in 1246, where a certain William de Scrantun is mentioned. This suggests that the name may have originated from a specific place called Scrantun, likely a small settlement in Yorkshire.

By the 14th century, the name had evolved into various spellings such as Scraunton, Scrawntun, and Scrantone. In the Subsidy Rolls for Yorkshire in 1327, a John de Scrawntun is listed as a taxpayer.

The Scranton surname is also closely associated with the town of Scranton in Nottinghamshire, England. The town's name is believed to have derived from the same Old English roots as the surname, and it is possible that some early bearers of the name may have hailed from this location.

One notable individual with the Scranton surname was Sir John Scranton (1570-1629), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Nottinghamshire in the early 17th century.

Another prominent figure was George Scranton (1811-1861), an American businessman and politician who founded the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1840. The city was named in honor of his family's ancestral hometown in Nottinghamshire.

In the late 18th century, a branch of the Scranton family emigrated from England to America, where they settled in various parts of New England and Pennsylvania. One notable descendant was Silas Scranton (1791-1872), a businessman and landowner in Pennsylvania who helped establish the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company.

Another illustrious bearer of the Scranton name was William Walker Scranton (1917-2013), a prominent American politician who served as the 38th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1963 to 1967.

Throughout its history, the surname Scranton has maintained a strong connection to its English roots, reflecting the early settlers who brought the name to various parts of the world.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Scranton

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

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

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

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