Given name & surname · also Old English
Milton
“from the mill town”
Milton is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “from the mill town.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “from the mill 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.
Milton through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 118,551
- 117,936 boys · 615 girls
- Most popular year
- 1920
- 2,603 babies
- 2025
- 125
- #1,440 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −12%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 125 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,440 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 12.1% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 2,592 in 1920. In 2025, California and Texas shared the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (15 each). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 51,890 as a first name in 2020; 20,138 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.
Milton’s family of names
Milton has a related form in Milt. Milton has a related form in Millten. Milton has a related form in Millton.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 23
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Milton
- Milton FriedmanAmerican economist and statistician (1912–2006)
- Milton ObotePresident of Uganda (1966–1971; 1980–1985)1925–2005
- Robert RauschenbergAmerican painter and graphic artist (1925–2008)
- TitaBrazilian association football player and managerborn 1958
- Milton BerleAmerican comedian and actor (1908–2002)
- Milton H. EricksonAmerican psychiatrist (1901–1980)
- Milton BabbittAmerican composer (1916–2011)
- Milton NascimentoBrazilian singer-songwriter and musicianborn 1942
- Milton GlaserAmerican graphic designer (1929–2020)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Milton, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Elton
“a spontaneous woman” · “from the old town”
99% boys · 1% girls
Melton
“from the mill town”
>99% boys
Hilton
“a wealthy woman” · “from the town on the hill”
85% boys · 15% girls
Merton
“from the village near the pond” · “from the town near the lake”
>99% boys
Walton
“from the walled town; from the stream town”
>99% boys
Weldon
“from the hill near a spring”
>99% boys
Morton
“from the town near the moor”
>99% boys
Millard
“the guardian of the mill”
>99% boys