How Many People Are Named Payton?
An estimated 82,298 people in the United States have the first name Payton. It is used for both genders, with 70.7% female. The average bearer is 19 years old, and Payton peaked in popularity in 2008 with 4,852 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Payton as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Payton paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- Payton has undergone a significant gender shift. Originally given predominantly to boys, it is now more commonly a girls' name.
Estimated Living Americans
82,298
About 1 in 4,165 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Female
70.7% confidence
Average Age
19
years old
Peak Year
2008
4,852 births
Total Registered
83,955
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Payton
Payton is a genuinely unisex name, used for both males (29.3%) and females (70.7%). Out of 83,955 total births registered, 24,626 were male and 59,329 were female.
Payton as a male name
Ranked #1,516 in 2024
117 male births in 2024
Peak: 2000 (1,581 births)
Payton as a female name
Ranked #381 in 2024
820 female births in 2024
Peak: 2009 (3,646 births)
Payton: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Payton span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 2000s, when 36,375 babies were registered. Payton has declined significantly from its peak in the 2000s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Payton by Decade
How has Payton tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Payton by State
Birth registrations for Payton span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, California, Illinois. The lowest are in District of Columbia, Rhode Island, Vermont. On average, about 1,580 Paytons were registered per state.
Payton + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Payton as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Payton
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
Payton: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Payton?
We estimate approximately 82,298 people named Payton are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 4,165 Americans share this first name.
Is Payton a common name?
Payton is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99.4% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 83,955 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Payton most popular?
Payton reached peak popularity in 2008, when 4,852 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Payton is approximately 19 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Payton a female name?
Payton is predominantly female. 70.7% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Payton Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Payton Smith, Payton Johnson, Payton Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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