The Dayton surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 8,494 people carried this name — #4,173 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 34,700 people counted. That is up 3% from 8,237 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Dayton surname

A variant spelling of Deighton.

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

In the first U.S. census, 1790

77 families named Dayton, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 433 people lived in those households, 5.6 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 3 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

New York 33
Connecticut 32
Rhode Island 3
North Carolina 3
Vermont 2
Massachusetts 2
Maryland 1
Virginia 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. 236 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Dayton in American newspapers,
1906.

Newspaper page from Oxford Democrat carrying the name Dayton
Oxford Democrat 1906-08-07
Newspaper page from The Lancaster Gazette carrying the name Dayton
The Lancaster Gazette 1906-06-27
Newspaper page from The Lancaster Gazette carrying the name Dayton
The Lancaster Gazette 1906-07-04

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 793,850 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Dayton in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1960s.

1,678 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Dayton. The most, 333, date from the 1920s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 775
Victoria 314
Queensland 248
Tasmania 139
South Australia 102
Western Australia 82
ACT (Canberra) 5

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

Who carried it

People named Dayton,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Elias Dayton
    Elias Dayton 1737–1807 · politician
  • Jonathan Dayton
    Jonathan Dayton 1760–1824 · politician
  • Smith Dayton
    Smith Dayton 1806–1891 · sea captain
  • William L. Dayton
    William L. Dayton 1807–1864 · judge
  • Alathea Dayton d. 1714
  • Sarah Robinson Dayton 1781–1820

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Dayton,
in the records of 5 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 States1,230 records

1,230 records of the Dayton name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 561
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 282
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 154
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 140
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 35
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 34
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 13
  • Sacramento County historic burials 5
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 3
  • New York State police and firefighter memorial rolls 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Harold H. Dayton

    Born 1911 in Delaware. Enlisted 1943 at Baltimore, Maryland; auctioneer. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1999, buried at Eastern Shore Veterans Cemetery, Hurlock, Maryland.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (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 William Clarence Dayton

    Born 1945; from Ross Neck, Maryland. U.S. Marine Corps, mortarman; died of wounds 1967 in Quang Ngai, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Anna Dayton

    Arrived at New York in 1851 aboard the Lady Franlin from Liverpool, aged 19; servant. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain)

Showing 3 of 1,230 records for Dayton in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada28 records

28 records of the Dayton name in Canada
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 8
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 7
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 4
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 2
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 2
  • City of Waterloo (Ontario) cemetery records 2
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 2
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Wm Dayton

    Came to Ontario in 1881 aboard the Canadian, landing at Quebec, bound for Brantford, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Wong Shee Dayton

    Buried in 1984 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 91.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Fawcett Calvert Dayton

    Died 1942 in Eastern Passage, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 28 records for Dayton in Canada.

Counts: 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. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · 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. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Australia26 records

26 records of the Dayton name in Australia
  • Tasmanian Names Index 14
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 11
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 1
  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 William Dayton

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the England, arriving 1835; certificate of freedom 1844.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Louis Dayton

    Arrived in Victoria in 1912 aboard the Demosthenes, aged 25.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Thomas Dayton

    Left Launceston in 1848 aboard the Captain Cook, bound for Adelaide, as a seaman.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 26 records for Dayton in Australia.

Counts: Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Dayton name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record S. Dayton

    Ileinster Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Dayton name in the Netherlands Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record William G. Dayton

    Died 1943 in Bellingwolde.

    Open Archives, Groninger Archieven (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Dayton.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Dayton is.
A volume says what happened to it.

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