Origins and variants
The surname Barton has multiple possible origins. It may denote origin from one of the many places called Barton in France; however, another proposal would derive the name from Dunbarton in Scotland. The cities of Paris and Lourdes have the highest number of Barton families in the world
The surname name is also common in Germany, Poland, and other countries in the Slavic cultural sphere. In the vast majority of cases, it is also a short form of the name Bartholomew, originally a name borne by one of the apostles which became a popular forename in Europe in the Middle Ages.
In Western France, the name may derive from the commune of Barenton.
People
Arts and entertainment
Anne Barton (actress) (1924–2000), American actress
Bernard Barton (1784–1849), English Quaker poet
Bethany Barton, American author and illustrator of children's books
Charles Barton (director) (1902–1981), American actor and director
Chris Barton (author), American author of children's books
Edward Barton (born 1958), English poet, artist and songwriter
Eileen Barton (1924–2006), American singer
Emily Barton (born 1969), American novelist
Fred Barton (composer) (born 1958), American composer and lyricist
Harry Barton (architect) (1876–1937), American architect
James Barton (vaudeville) (1890–1962), American vaudevillian and character actor
Jamie Barton (born 1981), American opera singer
John Barton (director) (1928–2018), English theatre director and founding member of the Royal Shakespeare Company John Barton (writer), 15th-century English writer on Lollardy John Barton (poet) (born 1957), Canadian poet Margaret Barton (born 1926), British actress Marmaduke Barton (1865–1938), English pianist Mischa Barton (born 1986), UK-born American actress and fashion model Peter Barton (actor) (born 1956), American actor Polly Barton, American textile artist Ralph Barton (1891–1931), American artist Rick Barton (musician), American guitarist (Dropkick Murphys, Everybody Out!) Robert Barton (actor) (born 1970), British actor Roger Barton (film editor), American film editor Roxy Barton (1879-1962), Australian-born actress Stephen Barton (born 1982), British film and video game composer William Barton (writer) (born 1950), U.S. science fiction writer William Barton (hymnologist) (1598–1678), English hymnologist William Barton (heraldist) (1754–1817), designer of the Great Seal of the United States William Barton (musician) (born 1981), Australian Didgeridoo player
Science, technology, and medicine
Alberto Barton (1870-1950), Peruvian microbiologist
Benjamin Smith Barton (1766–1815), American botanist, naturalist, and physician
Clara Barton (1821–1912), founder of the American Red Cross
David K. Barton (1927–2023), American radar engineer
Derek Barton (1918–1998), chemist
Ethel Sarel Barton (1864–1922), English phycologist better known as Ethel Sarel Gepp George Hunt Barton (1852–1933), American geologist, arctic explorer, and college professor Jacqueline Barton (born 1952), American chemist John Barton (engineer) (1771–1834), engineer noted for his engravings using his Ruling Engine John Rhea Barton (1794–1871), American orthopedic surgeon Lela Viola Barton (1901–1967), American botanist who specialized in seed germination and storage Michael Barton, American ichthyologist Otis Barton (1899–1992), American deep-sea diver Robert S. Barton (1925–2009), computer scientist, chief architect of several computers made by Burroughs Corporation Thomas J. Barton (born 1940), American chemist William P. C. Barton (1786–1856), American physician
Academics
Anne Barton (1933–2013), American-born British scholar and Shakespearean critic
Andrew Barton, lecturer in the School of Communication at the University of Miami Arthur W. Barton (1899–1976), headmaster and academic author Cornelius J. Barton (born 1936), American engineer, businessman; Acting President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1998–99) H. Arnold Barton (1920–2016), American historian John Barton (1789–1852), British economist Peter Barton (born 1955), British military historian Reid W. Barton (born 1984), four-time gold medal winner at the International Mathematical Olympiad