2000
#10,900
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,680
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.99
Rare Last name
Hallberg
A Swedish toponymic surname referring to someone living by or owning a flat rock or a smooth mountain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,654 Americans carry the last name Hallberg. That puts it at #12,739 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.77 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 129,146 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hallberg 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.
Bearers in the US
2.7K
1 in 129,146
Census rank
#12,739
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,314 bearers of the surname Hallberg in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.77 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12739th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hallberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hallberg
The surname Hallberg is of Swedish origin, and it can be traced back to the medieval period. The name is derived from the Old Swedish words "hall" and "berg," which mean "slope" and "mountain" or "hill," respectively. It is believed that the name was initially given to individuals who lived near or on a hillside.
Hallberg is a locational surname, which means that it originated from a specific place or geographical feature. In this case, the name likely referred to a particular slope or hill in Sweden, although the exact location is not known with certainty.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hallberg can be found in the Swedish census records from the 16th century. However, it is possible that the name existed even earlier, as written records from that time were not always comprehensive or well-preserved.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Hallberg. One of the most famous was Ivar Hallberg (1826-1901), a Swedish painter known for his landscapes and genre scenes. Another notable bearer of the name was Gustaf Hallberg (1905-1984), a Swedish track and field athlete who won a gold medal in the decathlon at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
In the literary world, Ivar Hallberg (1858-1930) was a Swedish author and poet who wrote extensively about rural life in his home region of Värmland. Carl Hallberg (1859-1935) was a Swedish engineer and inventor who is credited with developing the first modern respirator.
Lastly, Gunnar Hallberg (1887-1945) was a Swedish politician and diplomat who served as the Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1939 to 1945, during the turbulent years of World War II.
While the surname Hallberg is primarily associated with Sweden, it has also been adopted by families in other parts of the world, particularly in countries with significant Swedish migration, such as the United States and Canada.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hallberg
Among Census respondents with the surname Hallberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Hallberg 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 Hallberg surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.8% · 2,101
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 95
- Two or more races3.5% · 80
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 23
- Black or African American0.5% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hallberg
Hallberg 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
#11,411
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,762
+82 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Down 511 places
2020
#12,739
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,314
-448 bearers (-16.2%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Down 1,328 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,900 | 2,680 | 0.99 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,411 | 2,762 | 0.94 | +82 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 511 places |
| 2020 | #12,739 | 2,314 | 0.77 | -448 bearers (-16.2%) | Down 1,328 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 Hallberg 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 | #11,411 | #12,739 | -11.6% |
| Count | 2,762 | 2,314 | -16.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.94 | 0.77 | -17.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hallberg bearers went from 2,762 to 2,314 (-16.2% change). The surname moved down 1,328 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,411 to #12,739.
FAQ
Hallberg surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hallberg?
Name Census estimates that about 2,654 living Americans carry the surname Hallberg. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 129,146 residents.
How common is Hallberg?
Hallberg ranks #12,739 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.77 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,314 people with the surname Hallberg. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,654), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.77 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.77 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Hallberg.
Has Hallberg become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hallberg went from 2,762 recorded bearers to 2,314. That is a decrease of 448 (-16.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,411 to #12,739.
What does the Census say about the background of Hallberg?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hallberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Hallberg in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.8% (2,101 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hallberg appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.8%), Hispanic (4.1%), Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Hallberg (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 Hallberg mean?
A Swedish toponymic surname referring to someone living by or owning a flat rock or a smooth mountain. 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 Hallberg (0.77 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 have the last name Hallberg?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Hallberg on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.