Payton Name Meaning, Origin & Popularity

About Payton

Rarely used until the 90s, Payton rose up the charts when it was popularized by the football star, Peyton Manning, and, interestingly, by the character of "Peyton Flanders", the villainess of the 1992 film, The Hand That Rocks The Cradle.

Payton for girls#440 US

Derived from an English place name and surname, Payton could mean "Pæga's town" or "fighting man's estate", though other sources associate it with Patton and Patrick, giving it the meaning "nobleman's town". With both surnames-as-given-names and place names in style, Payton remains in the US Top 400.

Back in the early 2000s, Payton leaned more towards being (statistically) unisex, and it was given to roughly 2200 girls and 1400 boys. In more recent years however, the number of boys called Payton has dwindled, and now, it is given to girls 90% of the time.

As of 2023, the spelling variation Peyton was nearly twice as popular as Payton for girls, and ranked significantly higher in the UK and Canada too, perhaps because of its links to Peyton Place which could make it feel more intuitive.

Payton Stork (nee Ackerman) of Dance Moms fame is a notable bearer of this spelling.

Payton for boys#1569 US

Once an obscure, surname-inspired option, Payton (and Peyton) hiked up the charts back in the 90s, likely inspired by the football star Peyton Manning.

While both spellings were more (statistically) unisex back in the 2000s, the name has begun to lean more feminine over time. This is especially true of Payton, which was given to nearly 1000 girls compared to 100 boys in a recent year. Nevertheless, it maintains plenty of charm and gentle strength, and wouldn't look out of place besides the likes of Grayson, Avery, and Rowan.

Derived from an English place name and surname, Payton can mean "fighting man's estate" or "Paega's Town", but it is sometimes associated with Patton and Patrick too.

Notable bearers of the name include sprinter Payton Hazzard, basketball player Payton Pritchard, footballer Payton Turner, and singer-songwriter Payton Smith.

Pronounced PAY-tun.

As of October 2026, Payton ranked #440 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #79 in 2010, Nameberry popularity #772.

Popularity & trends

US popularity — history

US rank, lower is more popular · SSA data 2014–2025

Girls #440

Boys #1,569

20142025

18802025

Data table

Year	US rank · girls	Births · girls	US rank · boys	Births · boys
2014	#135	2,414	#644	410
2015	#153	2,117	#693	364
2016	#183	1,801	#817	281
2017	#189	1,650	#797	288
2018	#218	1,428	#909	237
2019	#216	1,422	#1,109	178
2020	#218	1,331	#1,122	176
2021	#267	1,168	#1,241	154
2022	#289	1,097	#1,313	144
2023	#311	991	#1,492	120
2024	#381	820	#1,516	117
2025	#440	701	#1,569	109