The Clayton surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 56,638 people carried this name — #595 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 5,210 people counted. That is up 3% from 54,875 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Clayton surname

A habitational surname from Old English.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Clayton» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Clayton’.

An early record he cites: Sewal de Claton, Hertfordshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 184 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 12 births for the Clayton name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 500 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 5
Connacht 3
Leinster 2
Munster 2

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 31 people named Clayton.

Most of them — 29 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 1 département, most often Aude.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 29
Aude 2

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

30 people named Clayton live in Switzerland.

They live in 5 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 12
Geneva 6
Bern 5
St. Gallen 4
Lucerne 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In Poland’s population register

20 people named Clayton have a registered home in Poland.

Of the 52 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 6 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Lower Silesian.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Lower Silesian 9
Lublin 3
Łódź 2
Masovian 2
Pomeranian 2
Silesian 2

PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.

In the Nordic population registers

32 people named Clayton is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 32

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Clayton was found among the farmers of 6 counties.

It was most frequent in Cheshire: 26 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 385. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Cheshire 26
Derbyshire 21
Lincolnshire 17
Yorkshire, West Riding 12
Lancashire 11
Hertfordshire 10

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In Scotland’s registers today

Clayton was recorded 28 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 872nd most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 22. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

101 families named Clayton, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 519 people lived in those households, 5.1 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 5 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

North Carolina 23
Virginia 22
South Carolina 21
Pennsylvania 17
Maryland 10
New York 3
Vermont 2
Maine 1
Massachusetts 1
Connecticut 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 234 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Clayton in American newspapers,
1843–1853.

Newspaper page from Flag Of The Union carrying the name Clayton
Flag Of The Union 1853-01-28
Newspaper page from Independent Democrat carrying the name Clayton
Independent Democrat 1843-10-14
Newspaper page from The Democratic Whig carrying the name Clayton
The Democratic Whig 1843-08-24

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 32,296 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Clayton in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2010s.

101,693 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Clayton. The most, 17,838, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Western Australia, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 32,410
Queensland 19,854
Victoria 18,722
Western Australia 12,127
South Australia 9,068
Tasmania 8,428
ACT (Canberra) 780
Northern Territory 54

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Clayton.

Who carried it

People named Clayton,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Charles Clayton d. 1943 · photographer
  • Johnnie Clayton d. 1992 · actor
  • Richard Clayton d. 1724 · land owner
  • Richard Clayton d. 2020 · politician
  • Caroline Millard d. 1894 · artist
  • Jasper Clayton d. 1743 · military personnel

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Clayton,
in the records of 8 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States4,624 records

4,624 records of the Clayton name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 1,828
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 943
  • Other U.S. records 1,853
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Tommy Makin Clayton

    Born 1947; from Los Angeles, California. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1970 in Binh Dinh, South Vietnam. Buried at Los Angeles National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Earl F. Clayton

    Born 1934; from Walker County, Georgia. U.S. Army, chief medical aidman; killed in action 1952 in North Korea. Buried at Chattanooga National Cemetery, Tennessee.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Eldon R. Clayton

    Born 1914 in Texas. Enlisted 1944 at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; manager from Muskegee County, Oklahoma. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1958, buried at Fort Gibson National Cemetery, Oklahoma.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 4,624 records for Clayton in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain).

Australia2,947 records

2,947 records of the Clayton name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1,202
  • Tasmanian Names Index 872
  • Other Australian records 873
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Elizabeth Clayton

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Rajah, sailing from London in 1841. Native of The Strand, Middlesex. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1844. Married 1844 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 23.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Eliza Clayton

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Hector, sailing from Woolwich in 1835. Native of Rogate, Sussex. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1837.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Matthew Clayton

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Woodford, sailing from Portsmouth in 1828. Native of Leeds, Yorkshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1837. Married 1837 in Hobart, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 2,947 records for Clayton in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain).

Canada442 records

442 records of the Clayton name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 305
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 39
  • Other Canadian records 98
  1. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record John Clayton

    Left New York in 1783 aboard the Delight, bound for River St. Johns, aged 26.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Thos Clayton

    Came to Ontario in 1872 aboard the Hector, landing at Quebec, bound for Orillia, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Joseph Clayton

    Died 1947, aged 64; buried at St. Vital Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.

Showing 3 of 442 records for Clayton in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom141 records

141 records of the Clayton name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 109
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 19
  • Other British records 13
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Thomas Herbert Clayton

    Died 1946, aged 74; buried at Logie Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record June Clayton

    Will proved in 1913; of Bangor, Carnarvon.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Edward Clayton

    Buried in 1847 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 42.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 141 records for Clayton in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

New Zealand33 records

33 records of the Clayton name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 28
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 3
  • Other New Zealand records 2
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Richard E. Clayton

    Died 1975, aged 83; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Fm Clayton

    Died 1962, aged 94; buried at Colville Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Frances Rae Clayton

    Born 1922, died 1991; ashes interred at Rangiora Lawn Cemetery, Canterbury.

    Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 33 records for Clayton in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Ireland15 records

15 records of the Clayton name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Anne Clayton

    Died 1833, aged 33; buried at St Marys, Tuam, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Michael Clayton

    Died 1951, aged 93; buried at Drumacoo, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 15 records for Clayton in Ireland.

Counts: Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands10 records

10 records of the Clayton name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 7
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 2
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Maisie Eunice Clayton

    Died 1955 in 's-Gravenhage, aged 42.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Alice Emily Clayton

    Married in 1873 in Zaandam.

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 10 records for Clayton in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

France9 records

9 records of the Clayton name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record John Clayton

    Born 1916 in Great Britain; died 1995 in Roubaix (Nord).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Florence Hetty Clayton

    Born 1905 in the United Kingdom; died 1992 in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois (Essonne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 9 records for Clayton in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Clayton.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Clayton is.
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