2000
#11,480
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,516
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.93
Rare Last name
Yelton
Derived from a place name meaning "hill farm" in Old English, likely referring to an ancestor's dwelling place.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,859 Americans carry the last name Yelton. That puts it at #11,981 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.83 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 119,886 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Yelton 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.
Bearers in the US
2.9K
1 in 119,886
Census rank
#11,981
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,493 bearers of the surname Yelton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.83 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11981st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Yelton, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Yelton
The surname Yelton has its roots in the British Isles, specifically in the English counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire. It is believed to have originated as an occupational surname, derived from the Old English word "gyltan," which meant "to gild" or "to cover with gold." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this surname were likely involved in the trade of gilding or working with precious metals.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Yelton surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where a person named Gilton is listed as a landowner in Yorkshire. This spelling variation is thought to be an early precursor to the modern Yelton name.
In the 13th century, records show a Roger Yelton residing in Lancashire, indicating the surname's presence in the region during that period. Another notable early bearer of the name was John Yelton, who was born in Yorkshire in the late 14th century and is mentioned in local church records.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Yelton surname began to spread across England, with families bearing the name settling in various counties. One prominent figure from this era was Sir Thomas Yelton, a wealthy merchant and landowner born in Gloucestershire in 1587.
As the surname continued to evolve, it adopted different spellings, such as Yellton, Yeltone, and Yealton, reflecting the variations in regional dialects and scribal interpretations. These alternative spellings can be found in various historical documents from the 16th to the 18th centuries.
In the 19th century, several notable individuals with the Yelton surname emerged. One such figure was William Yelton (1790-1867), a successful businessman and philanthropist from Yorkshire, who made significant contributions to the local community.
Another prominent Yelton was Mary Yelton (1820-1892), a renowned author and educator from Lancashire. Her works on literature and education were widely acclaimed during her lifetime.
In the 20th century, the Yelton surname continued to be represented by notable individuals, such as Sir Edward Yelton (1905-1988), a distinguished diplomat who served as the British ambassador to several countries.
While the Yelton surname has its origins in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia, carried by emigrants and descendants of the original British families.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yelton
Among Census respondents with the surname Yelton, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Yelton 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 Yelton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 2,285
- Two or more races3.0% · 75
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 61
- Black or African American1.2% · 30
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 24
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 18
Timeline
Historical Census data for Yelton
Yelton 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
#11,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,659
+143 bearers (+5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.90
Rank movement Down 303 places
2020
#11,981
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,493
-166 bearers (-6.2%)
Per 100,000 0.83
Rank movement Down 198 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,480 | 2,516 | 0.93 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,783 | 2,659 | 0.90 | +143 bearers (+5.7%) | Down 303 places |
| 2020 | #11,981 | 2,493 | 0.83 | -166 bearers (-6.2%) | Down 198 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 Yelton 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 | #11,783 | #11,981 | -1.7% |
| Count | 2,659 | 2,493 | -6.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.90 | 0.83 | -7.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Yelton bearers went from 2,659 to 2,493 (-6.2% change). The surname moved down 198 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,783 to #11,981.
FAQ
Yelton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Yelton?
Name Census estimates that about 2,859 living Americans carry the surname Yelton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 119,886 residents.
How common is Yelton?
Yelton ranks #11,981 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.83 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 2,493 people with the surname Yelton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,859), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.83 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.83 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 Yelton.
Has Yelton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Yelton went from 2,659 recorded bearers to 2,493. That is a decrease of 166 (-6.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,783 to #11,981.
What does the Census say about the background of Yelton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Yelton, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Yelton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (2,285 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Yelton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Two or More Races (3.0%), Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Yelton (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 Yelton mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "hill farm" in Old English, likely referring to an ancestor's dwelling place. 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 Yelton (0.83 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 Yelton?
Want to know how many people have the surname Yelton? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.