The Dunton surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,155 people carried this name — #10,215 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 93,500 people counted. That is up 2% from 3,097 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Dunton surname

A habitational surname from Old English.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Dunton» (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 Dunton’.

An early record he cites: Isabella de Dunton, Shropshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 259 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

30 families named Dunton, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 206 people lived in those households, 6.9 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 2 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

Massachusetts 12
Maine 7
Vermont 3
New Hampshire 2
Connecticut 2
Virginia 2
North Carolina 2

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. 238 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Dunton in American newspapers,
1927.

Newspaper page from Edgefield Advertiser carrying the name Dunton
Edgefield Advertiser 1927-08-24
Newspaper page from Edgefield Advertiser carrying the name Dunton
Edgefield Advertiser 1927-08-31
Newspaper page from Edgefield Advertiser carrying the name Dunton
Edgefield Advertiser 1927-09-07

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 45,986 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Dunton in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1960s.

2,106 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Dunton. The most, 366, date from the 1900s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 1.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 716
Queensland 606
New South Wales 460
Western Australia 185
South Australia 74
Tasmania 58
ACT (Canberra) 4
Northern Territory 2

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

Who carried it

People named Dunton,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Silas Dunton
    Silas Dunton 1818– · politician
  • Walter C. Dunton
    Walter C. Dunton 1830–1890 · lawyer
  • Minnie Priest Dunton
    Minnie Priest Dunton 1864–1921 · librarian
  • Edith Kellogg Dunton
    Edith Kellogg Dunton 1875–1944 · writer
  • John Dunton 1659–1733 · writer
  • John Dunton 1659–1732 · writer

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 Dunton,
in the records of 4 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 States281 records

281 records of the Dunton name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 96
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 68
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 58
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 22
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 21
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 12
  • Sacramento County historic burials 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Adelbert H. Dunton

    Born 1920 in Maine. Enlisted 1942 at Bangor; inspector from Penobscot County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1994, buried at Maine Veterans' Memorial Cemetery, Augusta, Maine.

    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 James G. Dunton

    Born 1940; from Melrose, Massachusetts. U.S. Army, ranger; killed in action 1964 in 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 Dina Dunton

    Arrived at New York in 1885 aboard the City of Chicago from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 50. From Yorkshire, England; bound for Rochester.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 281 records for Dunton in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). 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).

Australia103 records

103 records of the Dunton name in Australia
  • Tasmanian Names Index 38
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 30
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 16
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 15
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 3
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 1
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record James Dunton

    Died 1878 in Richmond, Tasmania, aged 65. Will registered in Tasmania in 1878.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Edith Elizabeth Dunton

    Born 1891 in Launceston, Tasmania. Married 1913 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 22.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Maria Elizth Dunton

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Fortitude, aged 17; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 103 records for Dunton in Australia.

Counts: Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

United Kingdom4 records

4 records of the Dunton 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 A. F. V. Dunton

    Royal Irish Rifles. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record G. J. Dunton

    Rifle Brigade. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record B. J. Dunton

    Lancashire Fusiliers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

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

Showing 3 of 4 records for Dunton in the United Kingdom.

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).

Canada3 records

3 records of the Dunton name in Canada Nova Scotia Archives name indexes
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record William Dunton

    Died 1911 in Truro, Colchester, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Eben Dunton

    Married 1870 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Martha Dunton

    Died 1915 in Panuke Road, Hants, Nova Scotia.

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

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

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Dunton.

When the index is not enough

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

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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