# Dayton (surname)

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

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 8,494 |
| US rank (2010) | 4,173 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 36,349 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.1% (8,237 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈdeɪtən/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

A variant spelling of Deighton. * Most of the placenames are derived from the surname; or another place named Dayton, that in turn is derived from the surname.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Dayton 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) | 92% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 2.0% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.1% |
| Two or more races | 1.9% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Dayton in the United States.

## People named Dayton

- Mark Dayton, 40th Governor of Minnesota; former United States Senator from Minnesota
- Jonathan Dayton, American politician from New Jersey (1760–1824)
- Danny Dayton, American actor, television director (1923-1999)
- William L. Dayton, American politician (1807–1864)
- Helena Smith Dayton, American film maker, painter and sculptor
- June Dayton, American actress (1923-1994)

## Similar surnames

Deaton, Dutton, Dowden, Doten, Dudney, Ditton, Dadiani.

## 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.