# Leighton (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/leighton/  
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) | 8,399 |
| US rank (2010) | 4,222 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 36,760 people |
| Change since 2000 | +1.2% (8,297 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈleɪtən/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Various place names in England, Old English leac (“leek”) + tun (“settlement”), also in the sense of a herb garden.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Leighton 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) | 2.1% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.4% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.2% |
| Two or more races | 1.7% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Leighton in the United States and the United Kingdom.

## People named Leighton

- Margaret Leighton, British actress (1922–1976)
- Laura Leighton, American actress
- Robert B. Leighton, American astronomer (1919–1997)
- Amanda Leighton, American actress
- Lillian Leighton, American actress (1874-1956)
- Kenneth Leighton, British composer and pianist (1929–1988)

## Similar surnames

Litton, Laughton, Leyton, Lightner, Liston, Logsdon, Lichtenstein, Laxton, Lichtenberg, Lichtenberger, Lichtman, Logston.

## 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.