2000
#10,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,890
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.07
Rare Last name
Talton
Derived from a place name meaning "town in the valley" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,503 Americans carry the last name Talton. That puts it at #10,057 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.02 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 97,846 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Talton 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 Talton with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.5K
1 in 97,846
Census rank
#10,057
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,055 bearers of the surname Talton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.02 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10057th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Talton, the largest self-reported group is Black at 46.8%. The next largest groups are White (43.3%) and Two or More Races (5.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Talton
The surname Talton is of English origin, derived from a place name in Staffordshire. The earliest recorded spelling of the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Tatlintune', which translates from Old English as 'the settlement or estate of a man called Tatlin'.
Talton is a locational surname, meaning it was initially given to those who hailed from the parish of Talton in Staffordshire. This parish dates back to the Anglo-Saxon period and was recorded as 'Tatlingtun' in the Domesday Book.
The first recorded bearer of the surname Talton was William de Talton, who appeared in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire in 1192. Another early bearer was John Talton, mentioned in the Assize Court Rolls of Derbyshire in 1284.
In the 14th century, the name took on various spellings, including Taleton, Talletun, and Talaton. One notable bearer from this period was Sir John Talton (c.1350-1421), a distinguished soldier who served under King Henry IV and was granted lands in Normandy for his loyalty.
The Talton family established themselves in several counties throughout the Middle Ages, including Staffordshire, Derbyshire, and Nottinghamshire. In the 16th century, a branch of the family settled in Yorkshire, where they became landowners and prominent members of the gentry.
One of the most famous bearers of the Talton name was Sir John Talton (1535-1604), a wealthy landowner and Member of Parliament for Nottinghamshire. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I in 1588 for his service to the Crown.
Other notable Taltons include Robert Talton (1570-1633), an English clergyman and academic who served as Master of St. John's College, Cambridge; and William Talton (1719-1790), a successful merchant and landowner in Virginia, USA.
While the surname Talton is not as common today, it remains an integral part of English heritage, tracing its roots back to the Anglo-Saxon settlers of Staffordshire.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Talton
Among Census respondents with the surname Talton, the largest self-reported group is Black at 46.8%. The next largest groups are White (43.3%) and Two or More Races (5.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Talton 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 Talton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American46.8% · 1,431
- White43.3% · 1,324
- Two or more races5.8% · 176
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 73
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 20
Timeline
Historical Census data for Talton
Talton 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
#9,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,519
+629 bearers (+21.8%)
Per 100,000 1.19
Rank movement Up 981 places
2020
#10,057
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,055
-464 bearers (-13.2%)
Per 100,000 1.02
Rank movement Down 804 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,234 | 2,890 | 1.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,253 | 3,519 | 1.19 | +629 bearers (+21.8%) | Up 981 places |
| 2020 | #10,057 | 3,055 | 1.02 | -464 bearers (-13.2%) | Down 804 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 Talton 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 | #9,253 | #10,057 | -8.7% |
| Count | 3,519 | 3,055 | -13.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.19 | 1.02 | -14.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Talton bearers went from 3,519 to 3,055 (-13.2% change). The surname moved down 804 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,253 to #10,057.
FAQ
Talton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Talton?
Name Census estimates that about 3,503 living Americans carry the surname Talton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 97,846 residents.
How common is Talton?
Talton ranks #10,057 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.02 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,055 people with the surname Talton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,503), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.02 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.02 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Talton.
Has Talton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Talton went from 3,519 recorded bearers to 3,055. That is a decrease of 464 (-13.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,253 to #10,057.
What does the Census say about the background of Talton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Talton, the largest self-reported group is Black at 46.8%. The next largest groups are White (43.3%) and Two or More Races (5.8%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Talton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.8% (1,431 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Talton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (46.8%), White (43.3%), Two or More Races (5.8%). 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 Talton (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 Talton mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "town in the valley" 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 Talton (1.02 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 Talton?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.