Clayton

English

Etymology

From Middle English Claytone, Cleyton, from Old English clǣġ (“clay”) + Old English tūn (“enclosure, settlement; town”). Analyzable as clay +‎ -ton.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkleɪtən/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪtən

Proper noun

Clayton (countable and uncountable, plural Claytons)

1. A placename:
   1. A large number of places in the United States:
      1. A town, the county seat of Barbour County, Alabama; named for Georgia jurist and congressman Augustin Smith Clayton.
      2. A city in Contra Costa County, California; named for founder Joel Henry Clayton.

         Synonyms: Clayton's, Claytonville

      3. A town in Kent County and New Castle County, Delaware; named for John M. Clayton.
      4. A city, the county seat of Rabun County, Georgia; named for Augustin Smith Clayton.
      5. A minor city in Custer County, Idaho; the smallest city in the United States, named for early settler Clayton Smith.
      6. A village and township in Adams County, Illinois; named for Henry Clay.
      7. A town in Liberty Township, Hendricks County, Indiana; named for Kentucky statesman Henry Clay.
      8. A minor city in Clayton County, Iowa.
      9. A minor city in Decatur County and Norton County, Kansas; named for the clay in the area.
      10. A town in Concordia Parish, Louisiana.
      11. An unincorporated community in Harford County, Maryland.
      12. A community in the town of New Marlborough, Berkshire County, Massachusetts.
      13. A village in Hudson Township and Dover Township, Lenawee County, Michigan.
      14. An unincorporated community in Tunica County, Mississippi.
      15. A city, the county seat of St. Louis County, Missouri; named for landowner Ralph Clayton.
      16. A borough in Gloucester County, New Jersey.
      17. A town, the county seat of Union County, New Mexico; named for Clayton Dorsey, son of Arkansas statesman Stephen Wallace Dorsey.
      18. A town and village in Jefferson County, New York; named for lawyer and politician John M. Clayton.
      19. A town in Johnston County, North Carolina.
      20. A city in Montgomery County, Ohio; named for John Clayton, a War of 1812 veteran.
      21. A town in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma; named for the city in Missouri.
      22. An unincorporated community in Hereford Township and Washington Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania.
      23. An unincorporated community in Panola County, Texas.
      24. A census-designated place in Stevens County, Washington.
      25. An unincorporated community in Summers County, West Virginia.
      26. A town in Crawford County, Wisconsin.
      27. A town and village in Polk County, Wisconsin; named for Clayton Rogers, the foreman of the town's sawmill.
      28. A town in Winnebago County, Wisconsin.
      29. A number of townships in the United States, listed under Clayton Township.
      30. Ellipsis of Clayton County.
   2. A few places in England:
      1. A suburb of the city of Manchester, Greater Manchester; named for the Clayton family which owned land nearby (OS grid ref SJ8898).
      2. A village in Clayton with Frickley parish, Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, South Yorkshire (OS grid ref SE4507).
      3. A suburb of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire (OS grid ref SJ8544).
      4. A village in Hassocks parish, Mid Sussex district, West Sussex (OS grid ref TQ2914).
      5. A suburban village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Bradford, West Yorkshire (OS grid ref SE1231).
   3. A village south-west of Guardbridge, north-east Fife council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NO4318)
   4. A suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; named for proprietor John Hughes Clayton.
2. A habitational surname from Old English.
3. A male given name transferred from the surname.

Derived terms

• Clayton Bridge
• Clayton County
• Claytonian
• Clayton-le-Moors
• Clayton motion
• Clayton's
• Claytons
• Clayton South
• Claytonville
• Clayton West
• Clayton with Frickley

Descendants

• ⇒ Translingual: Claytonia