2000
#30
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 473,568
First available Census row
Per 100,000 175.55
Very Common Last name
Hall
An English occupational surname referring to someone who worked or lived in a large house or hall.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 539,053 Americans carry the last name Hall. That puts it at #33 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 157.27 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 636 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hall 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 Hall with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
539K
1 in 636
Census rank
#33
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
157.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
470K
very common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 470,080 bearers of the surname Hall in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 157.27 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 33rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hall, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.8%. The next largest groups are Black (21.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hall
The surname Hall has its origins in England, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old English word "hall," which referred to a large dwelling or manor house, often the residence of a wealthy landowner or nobleman.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Hall can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of landowners and property holdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. This suggests that the name was already in use by the late 11th century.
The Hall surname is closely associated with various place names across England, particularly in areas where large manorial halls were located. For example, the town of Hallaton in Leicestershire is believed to be named after a prominent hall or manor that existed there.
In the 13th century, records show a Robert de la Halle, a landowner from Lincolnshire, whose name reflects the French spelling variation common during the Norman influence in England. Other early spellings include Halle, Haull, and Haulle.
Notable historical figures bearing the Hall surname include Edmund Hall (1515-1566), an English Catholic priest and martyr executed during the Protestant Reformation, and Joseph Hall (1574-1656), an English bishop and satirist known for his works on meditations and contemplations.
Sir Benjamin Hall (1802-1868) was a British politician and industrialist who served as the first Baron Llanover. He played a significant role in the development of the coal and iron industries in South Wales.
Charles Martin Hall (1863-1914), an American inventor and chemist, is credited with developing an inexpensive method for producing aluminum, which revolutionized the metal industry in the late 19th century.
Radclyffe Hall (1880-1943), born Marguerite Radclyffe-Hall, was a British novelist and poet best known for her semi-autobiographical novel "The Well of Loneliness," which dealt with the theme of lesbian love and faced censorship upon its publication.
These examples illustrate the widespread use and historical significance of the Hall surname, which has its roots in the medieval English landscape and has been borne by notable figures across various fields throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hall
Among Census respondents with the surname Hall, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.8%. The next largest groups are Black (21.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Hall 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 Hall surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.8% · 328,244
- Black or African American21.1% · 99,254
- Two or more races4.5% · 21,232
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 15,141
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 3,378
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 2,831
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hall
Hall 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
#45
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 407,076
-66,492 bearers (-14.0%)
Per 100,000 138.00
Rank movement Down 15 places
2020
#33
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 470,080
+63,004 bearers (+15.5%)
Per 100,000 157.27
Rank movement Up 12 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #30 | 473,568 | 175.55 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #45 | 407,076 | 138.00 | -66,492 bearers (-14.0%) | Down 15 places |
| 2020 | #33 | 470,080 | 157.27 | +63,004 bearers (+15.5%) | Up 12 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 Hall 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 | #45 | #33 | 26.7% |
| Count | 407,076 | 470,080 | 15.5% |
| Per 100K | 138.00 | 157.27 | 14.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hall bearers went from 407,076 to 470,080 (+15.5% change). The surname moved up 12 positions in the national ranking, going from #45 to #33.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hall
FAQ
Hall surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hall?
Name Census estimates that about 539,053 living Americans carry the surname Hall. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 636 residents.
How common is Hall?
Hall ranks #33 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 157.27 per 100,000 residents, which is about 157 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 470,080 people with the surname Hall. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (539,053), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 157.27 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 157.27 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 157 of them to have the surname Hall.
Has Hall become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hall went from 407,076 recorded bearers to 470,080. That is an increase of 63,004 (+15.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #45 to #33.
What does the Census say about the background of Hall?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hall, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.8%. The next largest groups are Black (21.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Hall in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.8% (328,244 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hall appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (69.8%), Black (21.1%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Hall (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 Hall mean?
An English occupational surname referring to someone who worked or lived in a large house or hall. 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 Hall (157.27 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 are called Hall?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Hall on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.