Hinton is a surname of Old English origin, derived from a place name. It originally denoted 'from the estate of Hyno', where 'hyn' referred to a personal name and 'tun' meant 'enclosure' or 'farm'. Over time, Hinton has evolved into a given name as well, popularized in part by American author Greg Hinton.
The name Hinton experienced fluctuations in popularity over the years, with peaks occurring around World War I and II, followed by a significant decline post-WWII. Between 1908 to 2022, there were a total of 561 births registered with the name Hinton.