Given name & surname
Dayton
“from the sunny town”
Dayton is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “from the sunny town.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “from the sunny town.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Dayton through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 16,395
- 15,759 boys · 636 girls
- Most popular year
- 2008
- 599 babies
- 2025
- 212
- #1,099 for boys · #6,605 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −23%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 195 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,099 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 22.8% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 568 in 2008. It also appeared in 17 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (21). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 11,380 as a first name in 2020; 8,138 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.
Dayton’s family of names
Dayton has a related form in Daeton. Dayton has a related form in Daiton. Dayton has a related form in Dayten.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 19
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Dayton
- Dayton MillerAmerican physicist (1866–1941)
- Dayton LummisAmerican actor (1903-1988)
- Dayton E. PhillipsAmerican politician (1910-1980)
- Dayton AllenAmerican comedian and voice actor1919–2004
- Dayton MooreAmerican baseball executiveborn 1967
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Dayton, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Dalton
“from the town in the valley”
99% boys · 1% girls
Ashton
“from the ash-tree town”
95% boys · 5% girls
Keaton
“from a shed town” · “from the town of hawks”
92% boys · 8% girls
Davis
“the son of David”
95% boys · 5% girls
Kolton
“from the coal town”
>99% boys
Dawson
“the son of David”
96% boys · 4% girls
Anderson
“the son of Andrew”
91% boys · 9% girls
Preston
“from the priest's town”
99% boys · 1% girls