Hall Last Name Popularity, Meaning and Origin

In this article we'll look at the origin and meaning of the surname Hall and how popular it is in the United States. We'll also look at the race and ethnic origin of people in the United States who are named Hall.

Hall, like all of the names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Hall surname is from the 2010 census data.

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What is the Origin and Meaning of the Last Name Hall?

The surname of Hall derives from three very similar words found in different languages. The Old English (pre-7th century) heall, Old German (7th to 11th centuries) halla, and Old Norse (7th to 11th centuries) holl. All of these words denote a large residence or hall.

This surname is both locational and occupational in nature. Someone who lived in or near a great hall or a geographical place named Hall may be bestowed the nickname “of the hall” along with their given name. Over time, after several generations, this would become a family name. The moniker was also often bestowed upon someone who worked in a great hall perhaps as a servant.

In 1178 Warin de Halla was recorded in the “Pipe Rolls of Essex” This was likely one of the earliest mentions of the Hall name in use as a surname. Throughout the 12th to the 14th centuries, the versions of the Hall name were found recorded in England and Scotland.

John Hall (1672 – 13 July 1716), better known as Mad Jack Hall, was a Scottish Jacobite Leader. A member of Clan Hall he claimed descent from the Normans. Known for his fiery temper he was a major figure of the 1715 Jacobite uprising. Captured in battle, Hall was sentenced to be executed. Mad Jack was reprieved no less than five times before finally being beheaded in 1716.

Lyman Hall (April 12, 1724 – October 19, 1790) was a physician, clergyman and a founding father of the United States. Born in Connecticut, Hall eventually found himself living in the Loyalist county of Sunbury, Georgia. Lyman, however, became an influential man in the county convincing leaders to send a representative to the Second Continental Congress. As a Georgia representative, Hall signed the Declaration of Independence.

Where Does Hall Rank in the Most Common U.S. Names?

According to the data, Hall is ranked #45 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

The Hall surname appeared 407,076 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 138.00 would have the surname Hall.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hall to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 45 30 40.00%
Count 407,076 473,568 -15.10%
Proportion per 100k 138.00 175.55 -23.95%

Race and Ethnic Origin of People with the Last Name Hall

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Hall.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups: "White only", "Black only", "American Indian and Alaskan Native only", "Asian and Pacific Islander only", "Two or More Races", and "Hispanic".

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Hall was:

  • 72.65%, or 295,741 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic White Only".
  • 21.59%, or 87,888 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic Black Only".
  • 0.64%, or 2,605 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only".
  • 0.65%, or 2,646 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native".
  • 2.22%, or 9,037 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races".
  • 2.25%, or 9,159 total occurrences, were "Hispanic Origin".

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Hall has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 72.65% 75.11% -3.33%
Black 21.59% 20.75% 3.97%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.64% 0.48% 28.57%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.65% 0.63% 3.13%
Two or More Races 2.22% 1.63% 30.65%
Hispanic 2.25% 1.40% 46.58%

Data Source(s)

All of the data on this page is sourced from the Decennial Census survey, from the United States Census Bureau.

Link To or Reference This Page

We spent a lot of time downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

  • "Hall Last Name Popularity, Meaning and Origin". NameCensus.com. Accessed on March 28, 2024. https://namecensus.com/last-names/hall-surname-popularity/.

  • "Hall Last Name Popularity, Meaning and Origin". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/hall-surname-popularity/. Accessed 28 March, 2024

  • Hall Last Name Popularity, Meaning and Origin. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from https://namecensus.com/last-names/hall-surname-popularity/.