How common is the surname Dalton?

52,184 people in the United States had the surname Dalton in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 5,916 Americans. It ranked 654th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Dalton?

John Dalton, British chemist and mathematician (1766–1844), followed by Timothy Dalton.

Where is the surname Dalton most common?

Wikidata records people named Dalton in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia and 1 other country.

How do you pronounce Dalton?

Dalton is /ˈdɔltən/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Dalton getting more or less common?

More common. 50,166 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 52,184 in 2010, up 4.0%.

Is Dalton also a first name?

Yes. Dalton 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 Dalton

An English place surname, carried by 52,184 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈdɔltən/ 2 syllables Soundex D435 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). Dalton is more common than 99.6% of them.

Origin

English origin

From Old English dæl (“valley”) + tun (“settlement”). Equivalent to dale + town.

Dalton 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 52,184 people named Dalton in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 5,916 Americans. That is up 4.0% since 2000, when the Census counted 50,166.

#654

rank among US surnames

52,184

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+4%

change since 2000 (was #615)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#645	Abbott	52,739	5,854
#646	Allison	52,701	5,858
#647	Tapia	52,651	5,864
#648	Gates	52,569	5,873
#649	Chase	52,481	5,883
#650	Sosa	52,457	5,886
#651	Sweeney	52,410	5,891

Who is named Dalton

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

87% of people named Dalton identified as white (not Hispanic), 7.7% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 87%
Black (not Hispanic) 7.7%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.3%
Two or more races 1.9%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Daltons

25 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

John Dalton
British chemist and mathematician (1766–1844)
Timothy Dalton
British actor of stage, film and television, born 1946
Brett Dalton
American actor, born 1983
Abby Dalton
American actress (1932–2020)
Kristen Dalton
American model, born 1986
Karen Dalton
American musician (1937-1993)
Britain Dalton
American actor, born 2001
Dorothy Dalton
American actress (1893–1972)
Ray Dalton
American singer, born 1991
Andy Dalton
American football player (born 1987)
Jake Dalton
American gymnast, born 1991
Chloe Dalton
Australian rugby union player, born 1993

Notable Daltons come mostly from the United States (18), the United Kingdom (3) and Australia (2).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Doulton

Surnames that sound like Dalton

Daulton

Dalton has the Soundex code D435, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code D435.

Other English surnames

All 1,446 English surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Dalton come from?: From Old English dæl (“valley”) + tun (“settlement”). Equivalent to dale + town.
How common is the surname Dalton?: 52,184 people in the United States had the surname Dalton in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 5,916 Americans. It ranked 654th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Dalton?: In the 2010 Census, 87% of people named Dalton identified as white (not Hispanic), and 7.7% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Dalton?: John Dalton, British chemist and mathematician (1766–1844), followed by Timothy Dalton.
Where is the surname Dalton most common?: Wikidata records people named Dalton in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia and 1 other country.
How do you pronounce Dalton?: Dalton is /ˈdɔltən/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is Dalton?: Dalton is a place surname, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.
Is the surname Dalton getting more or less common?: More common. 50,166 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 52,184 in 2010, up 4.0%.
What are other spellings of Dalton?: Doulton.
Is Dalton also a first name?: Yes. Dalton 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.