Find out how popular the last name Cale is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Cale.

Cale, like all of the last 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 Cale surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cale in America

Cale is the 10044th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cale surname appeared 3,207 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Cale.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cale 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.

The history of the last name Cale

The surname Cale is believed to have originated in France, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 12th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old French word "cal," meaning "bald" or "hairless," possibly referring to a distinguishing physical characteristic of an early bearer of the name.

One of the earliest recorded references to the Cale surname can be found in the Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Saint-Père de Chartres, a medieval cartulary from the Saint-Père Abbey in Chartres, France. The document, dated around 1150, mentions a person named "Gislebertus Cale."

In England, the Cale surname appears to have been introduced during the Norman Conquest of 1066, when many French nobles and their followers settled in the country. The Domesday Book, a detailed survey of land ownership commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, records several individuals with variations of the name, such as "Cale" and "Calley."

Notable individuals with the surname Cale include John Cale, a Welsh musician and founding member of the influential rock band Velvet Underground, born in 1942. Another prominent figure is Noel Cale, an English footballer who played for Tottenham Hotspur in the 1960s and 1970s, born in 1944.

In literature, one can find references to the Cale surname in works such as "The Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer, where a character named "Cale" is mentioned. Additionally, the name appears in various historical records and documents throughout the centuries, such as the "Calendar of the Patent Rolls" from the reign of King Edward III, which mentions a "John Cale" in 1348.

Other notable individuals with the Cale surname include Robert Cale, an English painter and engraver active in the 17th century, and John Cale, a British actor and playwright who lived from 1889 to 1981. The name has also been associated with various place names, such as Cale Green in Cheshire, England, and Cale Lane in Virginia, USA.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cale

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

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:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

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

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 Cale has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Cale was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Cale, please contact us.

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