Payton
Payton is given to both girls and boys: 701 girls and 109 boys were given it in 2025 (#440 among girls’ names and #1,569 among boys’, #789 among all names counting both); 84,784 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026). Girls have outnumbered boys among babies named Payton every year since 1992.
An estimated 83,200 Americans named Payton and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (98% of everyone recorded); the median is 18 years old and half are between 13 and 24.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Payton by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Payton mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Payton is “a female given name transferred from the surname, of modern usage.” Its etymology gives the sense “enclosure; settlement, town” (tūn).
Also “a male given name transferred from the surname.”
Habitational surname from a minor place in Sussex, from the Old English personal name Pǣga + tūn (“enclosure; settlement, town”).
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Payton?
#440 among girls’ names, 2025
Payton fell from #153 in 2015 to #440 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 1.2 to 0.44 per 1,000.
4,852 babies in 2008, the peak
Payton peaked in 2008, when 4,852 babies were given it (3,612 girls, #91 among girls’ names). The 810 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 17% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 701 | #440 | 109 | #1,569 |
| 2024 | 823 | #381 | 117 | #1,519 |
| 2023 | 991 | #311 | 120 | #1,494 |
| 2022 | 1,099 | #289 | 144 | #1,313 |
| 2021 | 1,168 | #267 | 154 | #1,241 |
| 2020 | 1,333 | #218 | 176 | #1,122 |
| 2019 | 1,423 | #215 | 179 | #1,105 |
| 2018 | 1,428 | #218 | 237 | #909 |
| 2017 | 1,650 | #189 | 288 | #797 |
| 2016 | 1,802 | #183 | 281 | #817 |
Every recorded year (121)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2,117 | #153 | 365 | #691 |
| 2014 | 2,416 | #135 | 410 | #644 |
| 2013 | 2,620 | #123 | 510 | #522 |
| 2012 | 2,946 | #103 | 598 | #456 |
| 2011 | 3,153 | #95 | 720 | #396 |
| 2010 | 3,589 | #79 | 891 | #345 |
| 2009 | 3,646 | #84 | 972 | #328 |
| 2008 | 3,612 | #91 | 1,240 | #276 |
| 2007 | 2,284 | #153 | 1,231 | #279 |
| 2006 | 2,158 | #163 | 1,291 | #269 |
| 2005 | 2,184 | #158 | 1,429 | #238 |
| 2004 | 2,077 | #159 | 1,396 | #239 |
| 2003 | 1,619 | #205 | 1,268 | #261 |
| 2002 | 1,758 | #183 | 1,273 | #256 |
| 2001 | 1,983 | #164 | 1,315 | #255 |
| 2000 | 2,059 | #163 | 1,581 | #219 |
| 1999 | 1,394 | #230 | 947 | #304 |
| 1998 | 1,368 | #227 | 914 | #308 |
| 1997 | 1,336 | #224 | 684 | #363 |
| 1996 | 1,018 | #284 | 576 | #406 |
| 1995 | 638 | #408 | 400 | #511 |
| 1994 | 568 | #445 | 401 | #507 |
| 1993 | 522 | #485 | 320 | #572 |
| 1992 | 307 | #703 | 262 | #634 |
| 1991 | 45 | #2,683 | 164 | #804 |
| 1990 | 23 | #4,335 | 132 | #891 |
| 1989 | 18 | #4,991 | 97 | #1,058 |
| 1988 | 22 | #4,127 | 106 | #933 |
| 1987 | 22 | #3,942 | 104 | #929 |
| 1986 | 13 | #5,671 | 90 | #969 |
| 1985 | 13 | #5,579 | 39 | #1,636 |
| 1984 | under 5 | 43 | #1,475 | |
| 1983 | 6 | #9,865 | 23 | #2,254 |
| 1982 | under 5 | 20 | #2,493 | |
| 1981 | 8 | #7,921 | 22 | #2,314 |
| 1980 | 8 | #7,919 | 30 | #1,899 |
| 1979 | 6 | #9,836 | 25 | #2,088 |
| 1978 | 9 | #6,767 | 32 | #1,711 |
| 1977 | 9 | #6,713 | 13 | #3,155 |
| 1976 | 5 | #10,416 | 18 | #2,481 |
| 1975 | 5 | #10,146 | 15 | #2,721 |
| 1974 | 5 | #9,773 | 13 | #2,904 |
| 1973 | under 5 | 18 | #2,293 | |
| 1972 | 6 | #7,951 | 19 | #2,138 |
| 1971 | under 5 | 27 | #1,733 | |
| 1970 | under 5 | 21 | #1,976 | |
| 1969 | under 5 | 21 | #1,847 | |
| 1968 | under 5 | 18 | #1,945 | |
| 1967 | 14 | #3,606 | 17 | #1,957 |
| 1966 | 18 | #3,009 | 11 | #2,581 |
| 1965 | under 5 | 19 | #1,845 | |
| 1964 | under 5 | 14 | #2,284 | |
| 1963 | under 5 | 16 | #2,093 | |
| 1962 | under 5 | 12 | #2,473 | |
| 1961 | under 5 | 15 | #2,213 | |
| 1960 | under 5 | 10 | #2,815 | |
| 1959 | under 5 | 11 | #2,625 | |
| 1958 | under 5 | 12 | #2,471 | |
| 1957 | under 5 | 15 | #2,168 | |
| 1956 | under 5 | 19 | #1,876 | |
| 1955 | under 5 | 11 | #2,519 | |
| 1954 | under 5 | 6 | #3,722 | |
| 1953 | under 5 | 21 | #1,698 | |
| 1952 | under 5 | 9 | #2,823 | |
| 1951 | under 5 | 11 | #2,465 | |
| 1950 | under 5 | 7 | #3,246 | |
| 1949 | under 5 | 11 | #2,426 | |
| 1948 | under 5 | 18 | #1,799 | |
| 1947 | under 5 | 17 | #1,895 | |
| 1946 | under 5 | 22 | #1,546 | |
| 1945 | under 5 | 9 | #2,532 | |
| 1944 | under 5 | 14 | #1,958 | |
| 1943 | under 5 | 19 | #1,682 | |
| 1942 | under 5 | 12 | #2,233 | |
| 1941 | under 5 | 13 | #2,066 | |
| 1940 | under 5 | 13 | #2,062 | |
| 1939 | under 5 | 17 | #1,699 | |
| 1938 | under 5 | 9 | #2,607 | |
| 1937 | under 5 | 16 | #1,812 | |
| 1936 | under 5 | 10 | #2,411 | |
| 1935 | under 5 | 18 | #1,698 | |
| 1934 | under 5 | 11 | #2,362 | |
| 1933 | under 5 | 13 | #2,070 | |
| 1932 | under 5 | 11 | #2,436 | |
| 1931 | under 5 | 14 | #2,076 | |
| 1930 | under 5 | 12 | #2,413 | |
| 1929 | under 5 | 15 | #2,073 | |
| 1928 | under 5 | 20 | #1,745 | |
| 1927 | under 5 | 17 | #2,013 | |
| 1926 | under 5 | 13 | #2,395 | |
| 1925 | under 5 | 19 | #1,856 | |
| 1924 | under 5 | 16 | #2,114 | |
| 1923 | under 5 | 23 | #1,629 | |
| 1922 | under 5 | 13 | #2,449 | |
| 1921 | under 5 | 18 | #1,967 | |
| 1920 | under 5 | 17 | #2,028 | |
| 1919 | under 5 | 19 | #1,793 | |
| 1918 | under 5 | 21 | #1,693 | |
| 1917 | under 5 | 14 | #2,163 | |
| 1916 | under 5 | 11 | #2,502 | |
| 1915 | under 5 | 12 | #2,269 | |
| 1914 | under 5 | 9 | #2,411 | |
| 1913 | under 5 | 11 | #1,776 | |
| 1912 | under 5 | 9 | #1,848 | |
| 1911 | under 5 | 6 | #1,691 | |
| 1910 | under 5 | 6 | #1,543 | |
| 1908 | under 5 | 5 | #1,545 | |
| 1891 | under 5 | 5 | #1,090 | |
| 1890 | under 5 | 5 | #1,117 | |
| 1888 | under 5 | 6 | #1,009 | |
| 1880 | under 5 | 5 | #1,028 |
Ranks: girls’ names and boys’ names ranked separately in each year’s SSA file; “under 5” is a year SSA did not list the name for that sex.
Is Payton a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 84,784 Americans recorded as Payton, 71% are girls and 29% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Payton: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Payton, and how old are they?
83,200 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 98% of the 84,784 Americans ever recorded as Payton. The median Payton alive today is 18 years old; half are between 13 and 24.
The 2020 Census counted 71,786 people named Payton (50,302 women and girls, 21,484 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 76,966 born in the U.S. The Census count is 7% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 46 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 168 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 360 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 5,850 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 54,200 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 22,500 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Payton born?
The states with the most babies named Payton are Texas, Florida and New York, with 23% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 69 | #594 | 0.8× |
| Florida | 55 | #416 | 0.8× |
| New York | 45 | #449 | 0.5× |
| California | 39 | #786 | 0.4× |
| Michigan | 35 | #313 | 1.2× |
| Pennsylvania | 35 | #319 | 0.8× |
| Ohio | 34 | #332 | 1.2× |
| Illinois | 31 | #342 | 1.1× |
| Georgia | 28 | #543 | 1.1× |
| North Carolina | 27 | #424 | 1.1× |
Where Payton is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Payton is most over-represented in Iowa: since 1910 it was given 1.7 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Payton with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 239,284 babies since 1880, Payton is the second most given (35% of them). In 2025 it was given to 810 of their 2,903 babies (28%), again the second most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Payton
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Payton and names like it
- Compare Payton and PeytonBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2000sPayton peaked in 2008.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Payton since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Payton: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2008The year the most babies were named Payton.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Payton alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with PMost given first.