Afton
Feminine
Afton is given to both — 5,223 girls and 854 boys since 1880. See Afton as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Afton is a river in Ayrshire, and it is a name because Robert Burns wrote a song to it in 1791 — one of the very few names in this book that exist because of a single poem.
How old is the name Afton?
Afton first appears in US birth records in 1895 — 130 years ago. The typical Afton alive today was born around 1989, making them about 36 years old. About 3,900 people named Afton are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Afton most popular?
Afton peaked in 1917, reaching #784 nationally. Today it ranks #3517, 2,733 places below that high. See the whole 1917 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Afton
Ours, offered as ours. Burns wrote Flow Gently, Sweet Afton in 1791 and it became one of the most-sung Scottish songs in America — carried by emigrants, printed in schoolbooks, set for parlour piano. The name appears in American records shortly afterwards, in real numbers, and its rise and fall tracks the song's. That is a rare and very legible piece of naming history: a small Ayrshire burn became an American girls' name because a poet liked the sound of it.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The river's own name is not securely explained; readings from Old English and from Brittonic have both been proposed. There is also an Afton in Devon whose name is separate. The given name comes from the river through the song rather than from any meaning.
Pronouncing Afton
AF-tuhn
Two syllables, first stressed. There is no variation.
Nicknames for Afton
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1895
- Most girls named
- 1982180 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #784reached in 1917
- Change vs 2023
- −12.2%43 in 2025, from 49
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Afton in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Afton in Scots — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Utah, Virginia, Minnesota.
Aftons among us
people named Afton are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 37,378 born in 2025 was named Afton
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Coletta test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Afton's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Coletta climbed just as high around 1902, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Coletta's path sketches the road Afton is walking now.
Afton sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Afton is headed
Afton is easing off slowly — about 26% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Afton beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Afton in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A documented and unusually specific origin — a river, a poem and a date.
- Read correctly on sight by every English speaker.
- Genuine nineteenth and early twentieth-century American use behind it.
- It is used for boys as well in current records, so forms may guess wrong.
- The river's own name has no settled meaning.
- A recent video-game series has used the name, which is a strong association for younger people.
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What they receive
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Afton
Feminine · #3517 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Aftons are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,900 people named Afton are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Afton in 2025?
- Afton ranks #3517 among US girl names in 2025, with 43 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Afton?
- About 1 in every 37,378 US girls born in 2025 was named Afton — 43 in all.
- Will my child share the name Afton with classmates?
- Afton will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Afton
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Maida#3517 · Amada#3517 · Allura#3517 · Jaina#3517 · Hallee#3517 · Katara#3517 · Samora#3517 · Joella#3517
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Afton? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Afton and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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