2000
#4,291
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,651
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.84
Rare Last name
Clanton
Derived from a place name meaning "settlement on the River Glyme" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,608 Americans carry the last name Clanton. That puts it at #4,574 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.51 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 39,818 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Clanton 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 Clanton with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.6K
1 in 39,818
Census rank
#4,574
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,507 bearers of the surname Clanton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.51 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4574th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Clanton, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.7%. The next largest groups are Black (24.6%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Clanton
The surname Clanton is believed to have originated in England and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is thought to have derived from a place name, specifically Claughton, a village in Lancashire. The Old English word "cloh" meaning "ravine" or "valley" may have been the source of the name.
In historical records, the name appears with various spellings such as Claughton, Cloughton, and Clowton. One of the earliest known references to the surname is in the Assize Rolls of Lancashire from 1246, where a Roger de Claughton is mentioned.
During the 14th century, the Clanton surname began to spread beyond Lancashire. In the Feet of Fines for Suffolk from 1366, a Thomas de Cloughton is recorded. This suggests that the name had started to establish itself in other parts of England by this time.
The Domesday Book, compiled in 1086, does not contain any direct references to the Clanton surname. However, it does mention the village of Claughton in Lancashire, indicating that the place name, from which the surname is derived, existed during the Norman era.
One notable figure with the Clanton surname was Sir Thomas Clanton (c.1490-1545), a Member of Parliament for Lincolnshire during the reign of Henry VIII. Another was John Clanton (1621-1690), an English Puritan minister who emigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 17th century.
In the United States, the Clanton surname has been present since the colonial era. William Clanton (1734-1817), a Revolutionary War soldier from Virginia, is considered one of the earliest recorded bearers of the name in America.
Other prominent individuals with the Clanton surname include:
1. Benjamin Clanton (1856-1907), an American outlaw and member of the Clanton Gang in the Old West.
2. Ralph Clanton (1829-1904), an American lawyer and Confederate officer during the Civil War.
3. John Clanton (1786-1858), a U.S. Representative from Georgia in the early 19th century.
4. Edward Clanton (1924-2014), an American jazz saxophonist and bandleader.
5. William Clanton (1768-1839), an early American settler and Indian fighter in Mississippi Territory.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Clanton
Among Census respondents with the surname Clanton, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.7%. The next largest groups are Black (24.6%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Clanton 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 Clanton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.7% · 5,006
- Black or African American24.6% · 1,850
- Two or more races4.6% · 348
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 187
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 75
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 41
Timeline
Historical Census data for Clanton
Clanton 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
#4,455
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,965
+314 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 2.70
Rank movement Down 164 places
2020
#4,574
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,507
-458 bearers (-5.8%)
Per 100,000 2.51
Rank movement Down 119 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,291 | 7,651 | 2.84 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,455 | 7,965 | 2.70 | +314 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 164 places |
| 2020 | #4,574 | 7,507 | 2.51 | -458 bearers (-5.8%) | Down 119 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 Clanton 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 | #4,455 | #4,574 | -2.7% |
| Count | 7,965 | 7,507 | -5.8% |
| Per 100K | 2.70 | 2.51 | -7.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Clanton bearers went from 7,965 to 7,507 (-5.8% change). The surname moved down 119 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,455 to #4,574.
FAQ
Clanton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Clanton?
Name Census estimates that about 8,608 living Americans carry the surname Clanton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 39,818 residents.
How common is Clanton?
Clanton ranks #4,574 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.51 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,507 people with the surname Clanton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,608), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.51 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.51 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Clanton.
Has Clanton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Clanton went from 7,965 recorded bearers to 7,507. That is a decrease of 458 (-5.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,455 to #4,574.
What does the Census say about the background of Clanton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Clanton, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.7%. The next largest groups are Black (24.6%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Clanton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.7% (5,006 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Clanton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (66.7%), Black (24.6%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Clanton (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 Clanton mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "settlement on the River Glyme" 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 Clanton (2.51 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 have the last name Clanton?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Clanton on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.