2000
#447
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 66,622
First available Census row
Per 100,000 24.70
Uncommon Last name
Barton
Derived from a place name meaning "barley farm" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 74,263 Americans carry the last name Barton. That puts it at #506 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 21.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 4,615 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Barton surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Barton with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
74K
1 in 4,615
Census rank
#506
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
21.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
65K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 64,761 bearers of the surname Barton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 21.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 506th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Barton, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.2%. The next largest groups are Black (7.9%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Barton
The surname Barton is an English locational name derived from the Old English words "bere" meaning "barley" and "tun" meaning "enclosure" or "farm". It refers to someone who lived in a settlement where barley was grown or near a barley farm.
The name has its origins in the county of Staffordshire, England, where it was first recorded in the late 11th century. One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which lists a landowner named Ralph de Bertone in Somerset.
In the 13th century, the name appeared in various spellings such as Bertun, Berton, and Barton. It was also closely associated with several places in England, including Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire, Barton-upon-Humber in Lincolnshire, and Barton in Cambridgeshire.
One notable bearer of the name was Sir Andrew Barton, a Scottish naval officer and privateer who lived in the late 15th century. He gained fame for his successful raids on English and Portuguese ships in the North Sea.
During the medieval period, the surname Barton was also found in various records, such as the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which listed William de Berton in Oxfordshire, and the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379, which included entries for John Barton and Thomas Barton.
In the 16th century, Benjamin Barton (1516-1598) was an English physician and writer who published works on natural history and medicine. Another notable figure was Elizabeth Barton (1506-1534), also known as the "Nun of Kent", who claimed to have prophetic visions and was eventually executed for treason against King Henry VIII.
Other notable bearers of the name include Sir Isaac Barton (1691-1765), an English lawyer and judge who served as a Justice of the King's Bench, and Bernard Barton (1784-1849), an English poet and writer from Suffolk.
Throughout its history, the surname Barton has been associated with various professions, including farming, military service, medicine, law, and literature, reflecting the diverse backgrounds of those who bore this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Barton
Among Census respondents with the surname Barton, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.2%. The next largest groups are Black (7.9%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Barton bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Barton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.2% · 53,236
- Black or African American7.9% · 5,096
- Two or more races4.1% · 2,660
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 2,441
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 864
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 464
Timeline
Historical Census data for Barton
Barton appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#488
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 68,233
+1,611 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 23.13
Rank movement Down 41 places
2020
#506
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 64,761
-3,472 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 21.67
Rank movement Down 18 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #447 | 66,622 | 24.70 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #488 | 68,233 | 23.13 | +1,611 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 41 places |
| 2020 | #506 | 64,761 | 21.67 | -3,472 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 18 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Barton surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #488 | #506 | -3.7% |
| Count | 68,233 | 64,761 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 23.13 | 21.67 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Barton bearers went from 68,233 to 64,761 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 18 positions in the national ranking, going from #488 to #506.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Barton
FAQ
Barton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Barton?
Name Census estimates that about 74,263 living Americans carry the surname Barton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 4,615 residents.
How common is Barton?
Barton ranks #506 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 21.67 per 100,000 residents, which is about 22 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 64,761 people with the surname Barton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (74,263), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 21.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 21.67 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 22 of them to have the surname Barton.
Has Barton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Barton went from 68,233 recorded bearers to 64,761. That is a decrease of 3,472 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #488 to #506.
What does the Census say about the background of Barton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Barton, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.2%. The next largest groups are Black (7.9%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Barton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.2% (53,236 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Barton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.2%), Black (7.9%), Two or More Races (4.1%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Barton (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Barton mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "barley farm" in Old English. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Barton (21.67 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Barton?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.