Payton
A surname usually from English place names, especially Payton or Peyton, meaning “Pæga’s estate” or a similar settlement name.
The #1,515 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 13,044 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Payton is generally understood as a locational surname, from an English place name. One explanation connects it with Devon and Suffolk Peyton/Payton, deriving from an Old English personal name, usually reconstructed as Pæga or a related form, plus tūn, meaning “farm,” “estate,” or “settlement.” Some older references also point to a Herefordshire Payton, so the surname may have arisen independently from more than one place name.
History
The surname appears in medieval and early modern records in several parts of England, including Warwickshire and Kent. In later scholarship it is often treated as closely related to Peyton, and the two spellings have been used interchangeably in some families. The name travelled to North America and is now found there in modest numbers.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Nineteenth-century surname dictionaries sometimes debated whether Payton should be filed under Payton or Peyton, showing how fluid English spelling could be before standardization.
From the historical record
“PAYTER for Pater, q.v. PAYTON I Bel. to Payton or Peyton (Devon ^ Suff.; etc.) = (prob.) P^ga's Estate [A.-Sax. *Ptzgan-tiin ^ P<Bgan-, genit. of Pcega] 2 V. Paton. PEA (Eng.) a nickname and sign-name from the Peacock [O.E. pea] Richard le Pe.—Hund. Rolls.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)