2000
#3,622
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,011
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.34
Rare Last name
Beall
Derived from a place name meaning "bee hill" in Old English, referring to a hill swarming with bees.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,805 Americans carry the last name Beall. That puts it at #4,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.86 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 34,957 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Beall surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Beall with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.8K
1 in 34,957
Census rank
#4,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,550 bearers of the surname Beall in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.86 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Beall, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Beall
The surname BEALL is of English origin, derived from the Old English word 'ball', meaning a rounded hill or knoll. It is believed to have originated as a topographic name, referring to someone who lived near or on a rounded hill.
The earliest recorded instances of the BEALL surname can be found in various English records dating back to the 13th century. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Robert atte Balle, mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1296.
In the 14th century, the surname appears in various spellings, such as Balle, Balle, and Beal, indicating regional variations in pronunciation and spelling. The place name Beall in Wiltshire, England, is thought to be derived from the same Old English word, and may have influenced the spelling of the surname in that region.
One notable bearer of the BEALL surname was John Beal, born around 1495 in Northamptonshire, England. He served as the Bishop of Ossory in Ireland and was a prominent figure in the English Reformation.
In the 17th century, several bearers of the BEALL surname migrated to the American colonies. One of the earliest recorded instances is William Beall, who arrived in Maryland in 1663 and became a prominent landowner and member of the colonial government.
Another notable bearer of the BEALL surname was Reverend William Beall, born in 1654 in Calvert County, Maryland. He was a prominent Quaker minister and played a significant role in the establishment of the Society of Friends in Maryland.
In the 18th century, the BEALL surname continued to spread throughout the American colonies and beyond. Benjamin Beall, born in 1714 in Prince George's County, Maryland, served as a colonel in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
The BEALL surname has also been associated with several place names, including Beallsville in Montgomery County, Maryland, and Beall Springs in Crawford County, Kansas, both named after early settlers bearing the surname.
While the BEALL surname has its roots in England, it has since become widely distributed across various parts of the world, with notable bearers contributing to various fields, including religion, politics, and military service.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Beall
Among Census respondents with the surname Beall, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Beall bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Beall surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.0% · 7,436
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 393
- Two or more races4.0% · 344
- Black or African American3.0% · 254
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 66
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 57
Timeline
Historical Census data for Beall
Beall appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#3,847
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,202
+191 bearers (+2.1%)
Per 100,000 3.12
Rank movement Down 225 places
2020
#4,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,550
-652 bearers (-7.1%)
Per 100,000 2.86
Rank movement Down 181 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,622 | 9,011 | 3.34 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,847 | 9,202 | 3.12 | +191 bearers (+2.1%) | Down 225 places |
| 2020 | #4,028 | 8,550 | 2.86 | -652 bearers (-7.1%) | Down 181 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Beall surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #3,847 | #4,028 | -4.7% |
| Count | 9,202 | 8,550 | -7.1% |
| Per 100K | 3.12 | 2.86 | -8.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Beall bearers went from 9,202 to 8,550 (-7.1% change). The surname moved down 181 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,847 to #4,028.
FAQ
Beall surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Beall?
Name Census estimates that about 9,805 living Americans carry the surname Beall. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 34,957 residents.
How common is Beall?
Beall ranks #4,028 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.86 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,550 people with the surname Beall. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,805), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.86 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.86 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Beall.
Has Beall become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Beall went from 9,202 recorded bearers to 8,550. That is a decrease of 652 (-7.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,847 to #4,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Beall?
Among Census respondents with the surname Beall, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Beall in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.0% (7,436 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Beall appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.0%), Hispanic (4.6%), Two or More Races (4.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Beall (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Beall mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "bee hill" in Old English, referring to a hill swarming with bees. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Beall (2.86 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Beall?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.