The Lofton surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 13,900 people carried this name — #2,590 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 21,200 people counted. That is up 5% from 13,212 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Lofton surname

Perhaps a habitational surname from a lost or unidentified place, from Old Norse lopt (“upper chamber, attic”) + Old English tūn (“enclosure; settlement, town”).

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

25 families named Lofton, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 146 people lived in those households, 5.8 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

North Carolina 17
South Carolina 7
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. 250 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Lofton in American newspapers,
1919–1926.

Newspaper page from Indiana Daily Times carrying the name Lofton
Indiana Daily Times 1920-05-07
Newspaper page from Estancia News-herald carrying the name Lofton
Estancia News-herald 1919-10-16
Newspaper page from The Moorefield Examiner carrying the name Lofton
The Moorefield Examiner 1926-04-08

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 20,097 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Lofton in Australian newspapers,
1870s–1950s.

256 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Lofton. The most, 44, date from the 1890s. 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 119
Victoria 55
Queensland 40
Western Australia 14
South Australia 13
Tasmania 13
ACT (Canberra) 2

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

Who carried it

People named Lofton,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Euphemia Haynes
    Euphemia Haynes 1890–1980 · mathematician
  • Oscar Lofton
    Oscar Lofton 1938–2026 · American football player
  • Willie Lofton 1905–1962 · guitarist
  • Nancy E. Schallert Lofton Morrow 1917–2009 · teacher
  • Tricky Lofton 1930–1993 · musician

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 Lofton,
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 States605 records

605 records of the Lofton name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 354
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 182
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 35
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 12
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 11
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 8
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Rayfon Lofton

    Born 1944; from Chattanooga, Tennessee. U.S. Army, infantryman; died in an accident 1966 in South Vietnam. 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)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Lonnie Lofton

    Born 1923 in Mississippi. Enlisted 1943 at Camp Shelby; farm hand from Simpson County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1998, buried at Gregory Cemetery, Magee, Mississippi.

    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 Patrick Lofton

    Arrived at New York in 1852 aboard the Rip van Winkle from Liverpool, aged 20; servant. From Ireland.

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

Showing 3 of 605 records for Lofton 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, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted). 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).

Norway8 records

8 records of the Lofton name in Norway Norway's 1910 census
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Census record Ole Lofton

    Census of 1910: Lofton (plads), Aadalen; "tømmerfløter", born 1878 in Aadalen.

    Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Census record Margit Lofton

    Census of 1910: Lofton (plads), Aadalen; born 1905 in Aadalen.

    Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Census record Berte Lofton

    Census of 1910: Lofton (plads), Aadalen; born 1854 in Lunder (Ringerike).

    Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO)

Showing 3 of 8 records for Lofton in Norway.

Counts: Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Australia1 record

1 record of the Lofton name in Australia Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Jessie G. Lofton

    Of Sale, Victoria; died 1973.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (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).

France1 record

1 record of the Lofton 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 Jeffrey David Lofton

    Born 1955 in the United States; died 1995 in Paris.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

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 Lofton.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Lofton 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.

See the Lofton volume
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