Overton
A name derived from an Old English place name meaning "upper farm".
Name Census estimates that about 140 living Americans carry the first name Overton. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Overton today is around 69 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Overton births was 1918 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Overton. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Overton is about 69 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Overtons were born before 1967.
People living today
140
~ 1 in 2,448,245 Americans
Peak year
1918
29 babies that year
Average age
69
years old
2003 SSA rank
#12,251
Tracked since 1884
Census
Overton in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 246 people with the first name Overton, which placed it at #33,566 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#33,566
National first-name rank
People counted
246
246 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
54.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Overton
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Overton is Black at 54.1%. The next largest groups are White (38.2%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Overton described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Overton at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American54.1% · 133
- White38.2% · 94
- Two or more races3.7% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 3
Popularity
Overton: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Overton from the 1880s through to the 2000s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 151 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Overton by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Overton during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Overtons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas recorded the most babies named Overton, while Virginia, Texas, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 6 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Overton
The name Overton is of English origin and can be traced back to the Old English language. It is derived from the combination of two words: "ofer" meaning "over" or "above," and "tun" meaning "town" or "settlement." Essentially, the name Overton refers to a settlement located on higher ground or an elevated position.
During the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain, which spanned from the 5th to the 11th centuries, the use of place names as personal names was a common practice. Overton likely originated as a surname given to someone who lived in or came from a settlement with that name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Overton dates back to the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership and property values commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The Domesday Book mentions several places with variations of the name, such as "Ovretone" and "Ovretune."
In the realm of historical figures, Overton has been associated with several notable individuals. One of the earliest known was Sir Overton Edmunds (c. 1425 - 1499), an English knight and landowner who served under King Henry VI during the Wars of the Roses. Another prominent figure was John Overton (1640 - 1724), an English clergyman and writer who authored works on theology and philosophy.
In the United States, Overton gained recognition through individuals like Walter Hampden Overton (1788 - 1845), a lawyer and politician who served as the 15th Governor of Louisiana from 1835 to 1839. Additionally, John Henry Overton (1835 - 1903), an American lawyer and historian, played a significant role in preserving the history and heritage of Tennessee.
The name Overton has also been associated with several literary figures, including John Overton Fuller (1923 - 2009), a British writer and novelist known for his works on the paranormal and unexplained phenomena. Another notable bearer of the name was Richard Overton (1609 - 1664), an English pamphleteer and Leveller who advocated for religious tolerance and civil liberties during the English Civil War era.
Throughout history, the name Overton has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including politicians, writers, clergymen, and landowners. While its roots can be traced back to Old English, the name has transcended its origins and become a part of the diverse tapestry of given names found across different cultures and societies.
People
Overton + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Overton as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with O
Other first names starting with O with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Overton: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Overton?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 140 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Overton going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,448,245 US residents.
Is Overton a common name?
We classify Overton as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 544 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Overton most popular?
The single biggest year for Overton was 1918, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Overton is about 69 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Overton in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 246 people with the name Overton, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,566 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Overton in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Overton?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Overton leans strongly male. 230 people counted with this name were male (95.8%), compared with 10 female bearers (4.2%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Overton?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Overton is Black at 54.1%. The next largest groups are White (38.2%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Overton most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Overton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.1% (133 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Overton in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Overton a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Overton in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Overton still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Overton in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Overton can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Overton?
You can see how many Americans are named Overton on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.