Crayton
Masculine
Crayton could be a Scottish surname respelled or an American build on a free front, and the record does not choose. The French word its first syllable approaches means a pencil, and the substance behind it has produced a remarkable set of English words.
How old is the name Crayton?
Crayton first appears in US birth records in 1914 — 111 years ago. The typical Crayton alive today was born around 1988, making them about 37 years old. About 500 people named Crayton are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Crayton most popular?
Crayton peaked in 1947, reaching #2356 nationally. See the whole 1947 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Crayton
A crayon is a French pencil, from craie, chalk, and the Latin behind that is calx, meaning lime — which has furnished English with a surprising spread. Calcium is the element in it. Chalk itself is the same Latin word borrowed early and worn down by English mouths. And calculus is a diminutive, a little pebble, because pebbles were what Romans counted with on a reckoning board — so calculate, calculation and the whole apparatus of higher mathematics descend from a handful of small stones. A kidney stone is also called a calculus, which is the literal sense doing honest work. The word for the soft white rock a schoolchild writes with, the word for the hardest mathematics there is, and the word for the metal in bones are all one Latin noun.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The Scottish surname Creighton comes from a place name joining a Gaelic word for a border to the English word for a settlement. This spelling changes two letters and could equally be a build on the free front that produced a dozen similar names. Nothing in the record separates them.
Pronouncing Crayton
KRAY-tun
Two syllables with the stress at the front. The second syllable is unstressed and therefore free, which is why this family writes it with an o and an e alike.
Nicknames for Crayton
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
- 1914
- Most boys named
- 201016 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2356reached in 1947
- Change vs 2022
- +16.7%7 in 2024, from 6
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.
Craytons among us
people named Crayton are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Crayton sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Two syllables with front stress is the plainest shape English has.
- The spelling is phonetic by English rules and needs no explanation.
- It is rare while being built entirely from familiar sounds.
- Creighton, Clayton and Craton will all be written for it.
- The unstressed second syllable means the spelling has to be given every time.
- Which of the two possible origins applies is not recorded.
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Crayton
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Craytons are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Crayton are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Crayton in 2025?
- Crayton is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Crayton with classmates?
- Crayton will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More C names
The most-given names starting with C, all years combined.
Charles#48 · Christopher#68 · Carl#1132 · Christian#96 · Caleb#58 · Cameron#76 · Carlos#150 · Clarence#1499
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Crayton? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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