# Overton (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/overton/  
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) | 18,820 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,914 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 16,405 people |
| Change since 2000 | +4.0% (18,094 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈoʊvɚtən/, 3 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Old English ōfer (“riverbank”) + tūn (“enclosure; settlement, town”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Overton 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) | 67% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 27% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.2% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.4% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.4% |
| Two or more races | 2.7% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Overton in the United States.

## People named Overton

- Kelly Overton, American actress, screenwriter, director, and producer
- Richard Overton, American centenarian and oldest verified living World War II veteran
- Joseph P. Overton, American political theorist (1960–2003)
- Rick Overton, American actor
- John H. Overton, American politician (1875-1948)
- Frank Overton, American actor (1918-1967)

## Similar surnames

Overturf, Obert, Offord.

## 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.