Dayton
A name that most likely began as a place-name surname, meaning someone from a town or settlement called Dayton.
The #4,173 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 36,349 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Dayton is most naturally explained as a locational surname, taken from one of several English places called Dayton. Such place-names are generally understood as meaning “farmstead” or “settlement” associated with a person named Daei, Dei, or a similar early name, though the exact first element can vary by locality and record. In later use, the surname was also reinforced by the famous American place-name Dayton, Ohio, which helped make the form familiar in the United States.
History
The surname appears in English surname patterns but is especially familiar in America because of the prominence of Dayton, Ohio. Like many locational surnames, it would originally have identified a person who had moved away from a place called Dayton. The name is also borne by the distinguished Dayton family in U.S. history, including General Elias Dayton and his descendants.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Dayton is one of many surnames that became much more familiar in America after a city with the same name rose to national prominence.
From the historical record
“lives at Richmond, Va. A Mr. Moll is a member of Congress (1859). Betsey Bessee made a deed (L. 442, f 243). Mr. Bess, of Dayton, O., failed in MALE FEMALE NAMES. 113 August, 1857. France had her Sue. Charles Bar-”
— Suffolk Surnames (3rd ed.)