# Clayton (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/clayton/  
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) | 56,638 |
| US rank (2010) | 595 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 5,451 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.2% (54,875 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈkleɪtən/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Middle English Claytone, Cleyton, from Old English clǣġ (“clay”) + Old English tūn (“enclosure, settlement; town”). Analyzable as clay + -ton.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Clayton 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) | 69% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 25% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.2% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.5% |
| Two or more races | 2.2% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Clayton in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain.

## People named Clayton

- Garrett Clayton, American actor, singer and dancer
- John M. Clayton, American lawyer and politician (1796–1856)
- Jamie Clayton, American actress and model (born 1978)
- Ethel Clayton, American actress (1882–1966)
- Marguerite Clayton, American actress (1891-1968)
- Merry Clayton, American musician
- Buck Clayton, American jazz trumpeter (1911-1991)
- Derek Clayton, Australian long distance runner
- Powell Clayton, American politician (1833-1914)
- Jay Clayton, American lawyer
- Klariza Clayton, British actress
- Gilbert Clayton, British Army general (1875-1929)

and 14 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Colton, Calton, Chilton, Celedon, Culliton.

## 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.