Clinton
A place-based surname, probably meaning “from Glimpton/Clinton” in Oxfordshire or, by later association, from other English places called Clinton.
The #2,242 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 18,985 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally treated as locational, referring to someone who came from a place called Clinton. The older sources here connect it especially with Glimpton in Oxfordshire, which was reportedly written as Clinton in medieval records, and in some traditions with Northamptonshire Clinton as well. The place-name itself is likely of English origin, though the surname was borne and spread by Norman and later English families.
History
Medieval records show the name in forms such as de Clinton, indicating a territorial surname. Lower specifically connects the surname with Reinbaldus, an early post-Conquest landholder, and notes that some writers made him a de Tancarville. The name later became prominent in aristocratic and political families, which helped keep it familiar in Britain and, later, in the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some 19th-century writers thought the surname ultimately pointed to Glimpton, an Oxfordshire estate that had been written Clinton in early records.
From the historical record
“keeper. CLINTON. The duke of Newcastle derives from Reinbaldus, who came hither at the Conquest, and assumed his surname from Gllmpton, (anciently written Clinton) CO. Oxford, part of the possessions granted to him for his services. Peerage. Some authorities make Eeinbald a De Tancarville. CLISBY. See Cleasby.…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom