Alton

Spellings & scripts●(measured from records)

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records, and ○ marks a model's transliteration; click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●(measured from records)

Attested in 1 language in the etymology graph.

Other names spelled this way◐(inferred from the name graph)

Alton is also recorded as another name, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish name5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Mexico, Portugal, Vatican City, Brazil

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian

  Also written ́alton

68 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●(measured from records)

Alton is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, A number of places in England:

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In English, from Alton; first attested Simon de Altun c1141–54 RegAntiquiss

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

• In English, Simon de Altun c1141–54 RegAntiquiss; John de Allon’ 1219 AssL; Peter de Alton

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

• English: transferred use of the surname, which is of local origin, being derived from any of several places in England so called. These have various origins; the most common is from Old English wiell source (of a river) + t n settlement, enclosure. It was borne (but dropped) as a given name by the American bandleader and trombonist Alton Glenn Miller (1904–44).

  as a word

• In Hungarian, superessive singular of alt

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Notable people with this name●(measured from records)

• Alton Parkerb. 1852USAmerican judge (1852–1926)
• John Altonb. 1901USAmerican cinematographer of Austrian-Hungarian origin (1901-1996)
• Glenn Millerb. 1904USnot in their usual nameAmerican band leader, arranger, and composer (1904–1944)
• Robert Altonb. 1906USAmerican dancer and choreographer
• Alton Asa Lennonb. 1906USAmerican politician (1906-1986)
• James McDivittb. 1929USnot in their usual nameAmerican astronaut and test pilot (1929-2022)
• Derek Walcottb. 1930LCnot in their usual nameSaint Lucian–Trinidadian poet and playwright (1930–2017)
• Billy Carterb. 1937USnot in their usual nameAmerican businessman (1937-1988)
• Alton Ellisb. 1938JMJamaican musician (1938–2008)
• Alton Masonb. 1997USAmerican model

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●(measured from records)

Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.

Frequently asked questions

What does the name Alton mean, and where does it come from?

Mainly U.S.: transferred use of the English surname, which is from any of a number of places so called in England. Recorded by A concise dictionary of first names.

In which country does Alton have the most bearers?

In the United States, the national register counted about 4.6 thousand people named Alton, more than in any other country we hold, where it is most often spelled alton.

How common is the name Alton?

In the United States, the national register counted 4,565 people named Alton in 2010, about 1 in 73 thousand residents.