Given name & surname · also Old English
Burton
“from the fortified town”
Burton is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “from the fortified town.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “from the fortified town.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Old English.
How it developed
It entered given-name use through an existing surname.
The story
Its naming history includes the use of a family name as a given name.
Burton through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 22,534
- 22,486 boys · 48 girls
- Most popular year
- 1925
- 597 babies
- 2025
- 23
- #4,419 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +19%
- Rising
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 23 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 4,419 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 18.8% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 597 in 1925. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 8,663 as a first name in 2020; 105,987 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Burton’s family of names
Burton has a related form in Burtan. Burton has a related form in Burten. Burton has a related form in Burtin.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Burton
- Burt LancasterAmerican actor (1913–1994)
- Burt ReynoldsAmerican actor (1936–2018)
- Burton RichterAmerican physicist1931–2018
- Burton DowningAmerican racing cyclist (1885–1929)
- Burton JastramAmerican rower (1910-1995)
- Burton C. BellAmerican heavy metal vocalistborn 1969
- Burton MalkielAmerican economistborn 1932
- Burton K. WheelerAmerican politician and lawyer (1882–1975)
- Burton CummingsCanadian musicianborn 1947
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Burton, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Fenton
“from the town near the marsh”
>99% boys
Walton
“from the walled town; from the stream town”
>99% boys
Hilton
“a wealthy woman” · “from the town on the hill”
85% boys · 15% girls
Eldon
“from the sacred hill”
>99% boys
Thornton
“from the town of thorn bushes”
>99% boys
Morton
“from the town near the moor”
>99% boys
Newton
“from the new town”
>99% boys
Wellington
“estate”
>99% boys