Patton
From a French surname meaning "someone from the village of Pâtine".
Name Census estimates that about 1,574 living Americans carry the first name Patton. It is a predominantly male name (94.6% of registrations). The average person named Patton today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Patton births was 2015 (77 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Patton. 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.
People living today
1.6K
~ 1 in 217,760 Americans
Peak year
2015
77 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,325
Tracked since 1915
Census
Patton in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,539 people with the first name Patton, which placed it at #9,154 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
#9,154
National first-name rank
People counted
1.5K
1,539 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
83.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Patton
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Patton is White at 83.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Patton 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 Patton at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.8% · 1,290
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 73
- Two or more races4.2% · 65
- Black or African American3.8% · 58
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 42
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 11
Gender
Gender distribution for Patton
Patton leans heavily male at 94.6% of total registrations, but 93 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Patton as a male name
- Ranked #2,325 in 2024
- 61 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2015 (70 births)
Patton as a female name
- Ranked #13,120 in 2023
- 7 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2021 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Patton leans strongly male. 1,322 people counted with this name were male (86.3%), compared with 210 female bearers (13.7%).
Popularity
Patton: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Patton from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 629 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Patton remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Patton 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 Patton during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Pattons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. Texas, Tennessee, Alabama recorded the most babies named Patton, while Indiana, Mississippi, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 29 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Patton
The name Patton has its origins in the Old English language, derived from the word "Pætta," which was a diminutive form of the name Patrick. It is believed to have emerged during the Anglo-Saxon period, primarily in England and parts of Scotland.
In its early days, the name Patton was closely associated with the Anglo-Saxon culture and was often used as a surname or a place name. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book, a vast survey of land and property conducted in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror.
As a given name, Patton gained popularity during the Middle Ages, particularly among English and Scottish families. It was often bestowed upon children as a nod to the revered Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, who played a significant role in spreading Christianity throughout the British Isles.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Patton. One of the most famous was General George S. Patton (1885-1945), a highly decorated American military leader who played a pivotal role in the Allied victory during World War II. His leadership and strategic brilliance earned him a reputation as one of the most successful field commanders in U.S. history.
Another well-known figure was Patton Oswalt (born 1969), an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer, known for his incisive social commentary and appearances in numerous television shows and films.
In the world of literature, Patton Burch (1951-2005) was an American author and educator, best known for his novel "The Whiskey Rebels," which explored the historical events surrounding the Whiskey Rebellion in the late 18th century United States.
Patton Burgess (1925-2009) was a prominent American lawyer and civil rights advocate, who played a significant role in the desegregation of public schools in the southern United States during the 1960s.
Patton Kizzire (born 1986) is a professional golfer from the United States, who has achieved notable success on the PGA Tour, including multiple tournament victories.
While the name Patton has its roots in Old English and Anglo-Saxon culture, it has transcended its historical boundaries and has been embraced by individuals from various backgrounds and ethnicities, reflecting its enduring appeal and versatility.
People
Patton + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Patton as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Patton: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Patton?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,574 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Patton 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 217,760 US residents.
Is Patton a common name?
We classify Patton as "Rare". It ranks above 92.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,720 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Patton most popular?
The single biggest year for Patton was 2015, when 77 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Patton is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Patton in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,539 people with the name Patton, or 0.51 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,154 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 Patton 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 Patton?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Patton leans strongly male. 1,322 people counted with this name were male (86.3%), compared with 210 female bearers (13.7%). 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 Patton?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Patton is White at 83.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Patton most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Patton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.8% (1,290 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 Patton in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Patton a male name?
Yes, 94.6% of people registered as Patton 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 Patton still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Patton 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 Patton 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 common is the name Patton?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.