# Bolton (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/bolton/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A habitational surname from Old English.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 32,815 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,068 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 9,409 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.6% (31,995 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /bɒltən/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Boulton |

## Etymology

From Middle English Bodeltone (in the Domesday Book) etc., ultimately from Old English bolt, bold, botl, etc. (“home, hall, manor”) + -tun (“-ton: enclosure, town”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Bolton in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 74% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 21% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.4% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.5% |
| Two or more races | 2.1% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Bolton in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Kingdom of the Netherlands and Chile.

## People named Bolton

- John Bolton, American lawyer and diplomat (born 1948)
- Michael Bolton, American singer-songwriter
- Nancye Wynne Bolton, Australian tennis player
- Ruthie Bolton, American basketball player (born 1967)
- John Gatenby Bolton, British-Australian astronomer
- Guy Bolton, British-American dramatist and playwright (1884-1979)
- Herbert Eugene Bolton, American historian (1870–1953)
- Emily Bolton, Aruban actress
- Frances Payne Bolton, American politician (1885-1977)
- Sharon Bolton, British author
- Nicole Bolton, Australian cricketer
- Barry Bolton, British entomologist

and 6 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Bolden, Belton, Boulton, Bilton, Bolding, Baldwin, Belden, Bouldin, Baltimore, Belding, Baldino, Baldonado.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.