How common is the surname Clayton?

56,638 people in the United States had the surname Clayton in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 5,451 Americans. It ranked 595th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Clayton?

Garrett Clayton, American actor, singer and dancer, followed by John M. Clayton.

Where is the surname Clayton most common?

Wikidata records people named Clayton in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and 1 other country.

How do you pronounce Clayton?

Clayton is /ˈkleɪtən/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Clayton getting more or less common?

More common. 54,875 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 56,638 in 2010, up 3.2%.

Is Clayton also a first name?

Yes. Clayton is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Clayton

An English place surname, carried by 56,638 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈkleɪtən/ 2 syllables Soundex C435 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Clayton is more common than 99.6% of them.

Origin

English origin

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

Clayton is a place surname: taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.

One of 1,446 English surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 56,638 people named Clayton in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 5,451 Americans. That is up 3.2% since 2000, when the Census counted 54,875.

#595

rank among US surnames

56,638

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+3.2%

change since 2000 (was #548)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#586	Meyers	57,127	5,405
#587	Weiss	57,112	5,406
#588	Underwood	57,064	5,411
#589	Bass	57,044	5,412
#590	Greer	57,043	5,413
#591	Summers	56,953	5,421
#592	Houston	56,900	5,426

Who is named Clayton

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

69% of people named Clayton identified as white (not Hispanic), 25% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.2% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 69%
Black (not Hispanic) 25%
Two or more races 2.2%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Claytons

26 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Garrett Clayton
American actor, singer and dancer, born 1991
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, born 1948
Buck Clayton
American jazz trumpeter (1911-1991)
Derek Clayton
Australian long distance runner, born 1942
Powell Clayton
American politician (1833-1914)
Jay Clayton
American lawyer, born 1966
Klariza Clayton
British actress, born 1989
Gilbert Clayton
British Army general (1875-1929)

Notable Claytons come mostly from the United States (22), Australia (1) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Clayton

Clayton has the Soundex code C435, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code C435.

Other English surnames

All 1,446 English surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Clayton come from?: From Middle English Claytone, Cleyton, from Old English clǣġ (“clay”) + Old English tūn (“enclosure, settlement; town”). Analyzable as clay + -ton.
How common is the surname Clayton?: 56,638 people in the United States had the surname Clayton in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 5,451 Americans. It ranked 595th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Clayton?: In the 2010 Census, 69% of people named Clayton identified as white (not Hispanic), and 25% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Clayton?: Garrett Clayton, American actor, singer and dancer, followed by John M. Clayton.
Where is the surname Clayton most common?: Wikidata records people named Clayton in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and 1 other country.
How do you pronounce Clayton?: Clayton is /ˈkleɪtən/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is Clayton?: Clayton is a place surname, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.
Is the surname Clayton getting more or less common?: More common. 54,875 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 56,638 in 2010, up 3.2%.
Is Clayton also a first name?: Yes. Clayton is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.