The Horton surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 85,195 people carried this name — #367 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 3,460 people counted. That is up 2% from 83,523 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Horton surname

A habitational surname from Old English.

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

An early record he cites: Thomas de Horton, Devon, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 400 · public domain.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 188 people named Horton live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 99
Santa Fe 36
City of Buenos Aires 31
Mendoza 22

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 41 people named Horton.

Most of them — 24 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 5 départements, most often Oise.

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

Where they were born

Born outside France 24
Oise 5
Seine-et-Marne 4
Yonne 4
Paris 3
Yvelines 1

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

In Switzerland’s population statistics

24 people named Horton live in Switzerland.

They live in 3 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.

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

Where they live today

Vaud 16
Zurich 5
Geneva 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.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Horton was found among the farmers of 6 counties.

It was most frequent in Devon: 20 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 500. 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

Devon 20
Warwickshire 20
Cheshire 19
Worcestershire 18
Shropshire 14
Buckinghamshire 12

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

Horton was recorded 15 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1427th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 14. 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

272 families named Horton, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 1,618 people lived in those households, 5.9 to a family on average. The table counts it together with one other spelling. 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 110
Massachusetts 54
North Carolina 38
Connecticut 21
Vermont 13
Pennsylvania 12
Virginia 9
Rhode Island 6
South Carolina 5
Maine 2
New Hampshire 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. 246 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Horton in American newspapers,
1902–1915.

Newspaper page from Water Valley Progress carrying the name Horton
Water Valley Progress 1915-03-20
Newspaper page from The Vidette carrying the name Horton
The Vidette 1915-10-21
Newspaper page from The Kalispell Bee carrying the name Horton
The Kalispell Bee 1902-11-14

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 401,677 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Horton in Australian newspapers,
1810s–2000s.

61,074 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Horton. The most, 10,977, 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 Tasmania, at 1.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 21,849
Queensland 14,433
Victoria 7,239
Tasmania 6,456
Western Australia 5,278
South Australia 5,228
ACT (Canberra) 402
Northern Territory 12

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

Who carried it

People named Horton,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Valentine B. Horton
    Valentine B. Horton 1802–1888 · lawyer
  • Alonzo Horton
    Alonzo Horton 1813–1909 · businessperson
  • Priscilla Horton
    Priscilla Horton 1818–1895 · actor
  • Dexter Horton
    Dexter Horton 1825–1904 · banker
  • James Beale Africanus Horton
    James Beale Africanus Horton 1835–1883 · writer

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 233 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Horton,
in the records of 7 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 States7,032 records

7,032 records of the Horton name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 2,849
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 1,379
  • Other U.S. records 2,804
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Fred Howard Horton

    Born 1947; from Denver, Colorado. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1966 in Quang Ngai, South Vietnam. Buried at Fort Logan National Cemetery, Colorado.

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

    Born 1911 in New York. Enlisted 1942 at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; weaver. U.S. Army Air Forces veteran of World War II; died 1996, buried at Dayton National Cemetery, Ohio.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Peter Horton

    Arrived at New York in 1891 aboard the Germanic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 30; printer. From Lancashire, England; bound for New York.

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

Showing 3 of 7,032 records for Horton 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) · 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) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia1,858 records

1,858 records of the Horton name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 642
  • Tasmanian Names Index 577
  • Other Australian records 639
  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 Edward Horton

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Barossa, sailing from Sheerness in 1841. Native of Darlaston, Staffordshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1844. Married 1844 in Hobart, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Samuel Horton

    Died 1867 in Campbell Town, Tasmania, aged 72. Will registered in Tasmania in 1867.

    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 Esther Babette Horton

    Arrived in Victoria in 1920 aboard the Khyber, aged 4.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,858 records for Horton 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) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU). 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); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada896 records

896 records of the Horton name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 768
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 31
  • Other Canadian records 97
  1. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Charles Horton

    Served in the No. 2 Construction Battalion in the First World War, private; of St Joseph, Barbados, British West Indies.

    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 James Horton

    Came to Ontario in 1874 aboard the Nyanza, bound for Paris, 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 Emily Mary Horton

    Buried in 2000 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 76.

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

Showing 3 of 896 records for Horton in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · 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: Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 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 Kingdom97 records

97 records of the Horton name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 79
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 14
  • Other British records 4
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ivy Horton

    Died 1981, 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 Thomas Horton

    Will proved in 1915; of South Wanstead, Greater London.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record A. Horton

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

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

Showing 3 of 97 records for Horton 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. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. 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); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand49 records

49 records of the Horton name in New Zealand
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 26
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 18
  • Other New Zealand records 5
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Thomas Horton

    Died 1923, aged 73; buried at Bromley 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 Alfred Horton

    Buried in 1950 at Buffalo Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 72.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Olive Bernice Horton

    Died 1991, aged 85; buried at Tuamarina Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 49 records for Horton in New Zealand.

Counts: Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · 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).

Netherlands11 records

11 records of the Horton name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 5
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 4
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 2
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Francis Horton

    Married in 1860 in Abcoude-Baambrugge.

    Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Johan Jorg Horton

    Married in 1732 in Willemstad.

    Open Archives, West Brabants Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 11 records for Horton in the Netherlands.

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

France7 records

7 records of the Horton 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 Henri Horton

    Born 1901 in Avon (Seine-et-Marne); died 1976 in Versailles (Yvelines).

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

    Born 1939 in Migennes; died 1999 in Tonnerre (Yonne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 7 records for Horton 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 Horton.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Horton 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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