Payton is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Andy Payton (born 1967), English former professional footballerAsie Payton (1937–1997), American blues musicianBarbara Payton (1927–1967), American film actressBrian Payton (born 1966), American writerCarolyn R. Payton (1925–2001), American psychologist, Director of the United States Peace CorpsCatherine Payton, later known as Catherine Payton Phillips, Quaker ministerCharles Payton (born 1960), American former professional basketball playerCharles Alfred Payton (1843–1926), British adventurer, fisherman, diplomat and writerChristian Payton (born 1965), American actor and singerClaude Payton (1882–1955), American actorClement W. Payton (1897–1918), English World War I flying aceDavid Payton (born 1952), New Zealand diplomatDenis Payton (1943–2006), English saxophonistDion Payton (born 1950), American Chicago blues guitarist and singerEddie Payton (born 1951) former American football playerElfrid Payton (born 1967), Canadian football playerElfrid Payton, Jr. (born 1994), American basketball playerEstella Payton (1904–1999), American television cookGary Payton (born 1968), American basketball playerGary Payton II (born 1992), American basketball player and son of the aboveGary E. Payton (born 1948), American astronautJames Payton, American history professorJarrett Payton (born 1980), professional American and Canadian football player; son of football player Walter PaytonJay Payton (born 1972), American former baseball playerJo Marie Payton (born 1950), American television actressJohn Payton (1946–2012), African-American civil rights attorneyJordan Payton (born 1993), American football playerKhary Payton (born 1972), American actorLawrence Payton (1938–1997), American singer, songwriter and record producerLucy Payton (1877–1969), American silent film actressMark Payton, baseball playerMel Payton (1926–2001), American professional basketball playerMichael Payton (born 1970), former American football quarterbackMuirceartach Ua Peatáin (died 1178), Irish chieftainNicholas Payton (born 1973), American jazz trumpeter and keyboard playerPhilip Payton (born 1953), British historianPhilip A. Payton, Jr. (1876–1917), African American real estate entrepreneurRoss Payton, American writer, podcaster, layout artist, and movie directorSean Payton (born 1963), American football coach, currently head coach of the New Orleans SaintsStephen Payton, British Paralympian athleteSue C. Payton, American technologist, Assistant Secretary of the Air ForceTony Payton (born 1981), American politician, member of the Pennsylvania House of RepresentativesWalter Payton (1954–1999), American football playerWalter Payton (musician) (1942–2010), American jazz bassist and sousaphonistWilfred Payton (1882–1943), English cricketerWilfred Payton (priest) (1913–1989), English clergyman and cricketer