Dalton
English surname and place name, Old English for “valley town.”
Popularity, 1880–2025
Dalton first shows up in the national records in 1881. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American boys in every year from 1994 to 2001. Its biggest year was 1998, when 4,565 newborn boys received the name, ranking it No. 88 nationally. Its best ranking came in 1994, at No. 85. In 2025 it ranked No. 448 for boys. All told, 86,142 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Daulton (1,554) (total births since 1880)
Explore Dalton interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 25 | No. 700 |
| 1890s | 63 | No. 567 |
| 1900s | 109 | No. 615 |
| 1910s | 778 | No. 517 |
| 1920s | 1,469 | No. 453 |
| 1930s | 1,421 | No. 446 |
| 1940s | 1,252 | No. 493 |
| 1950s | 1,015 | No. 641 |
| 1960s | 831 | No. 752 |
| 1970s | 691 | No. 838 |
| 1980s | 1,573 | No. 473 |
| 1990s | 35,981 | No. 85 |
| 2000s | 26,178 | No. 91 |
| 2010s | 10,533 | No. 260 |
| 2020s | 3,791 | No. 433 |
Births and rank shown for boys, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.