Alton

Where Alton comes from

From Old English ǣwell (“river source”) + tūn (“settlement, town”).
— Wiktionary's entry for Alton
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1852
    Alton B. Parker born
    American judge
  2. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #482 among boys — 14 babies in the first year on record.
  3. 1904
    Peak, #78
    302 babies named Alton — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1906
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #171.
  5. 1938
    Alton Ellis born
    Jamaican musician
In the dictionary
  • A male given name transferred from the surname.
Namesakes
  • Alton B. Parker · American judge, 1852–1926
  • Alton Ellis · Jamaican musician, 1938–2008
  • Alton Brown · American chef, author and musician, born 1962
  • Alton Lennon · American politician, 1906–1986
  • Alton Lister · American basketball player, born 1958

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.