Payton

An English surname with a Northamptonshire address, Payton comes from the Old English Paega's tun, the settlement of a man named Paega, and served as a family name for centuries before crossing into given-name territory. Walter Payton's Chicago Bears brilliance lodged the name in American sports memory, and it has held comfortable unisex ground in the U.S. top 400 since the early 2000s, with Peyton claiming a larger share on the boy side and Payton edging slightly feminine. Two trim syllables, the T landing clean. Payton reads athletic and well-mannered, a name that dresses smart-casual and remembers everyone's name at the barbecue.