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

Halliday, 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 Halliday surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Halliday in America

Halliday is the 7298th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Halliday surname appeared 4,568 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Halliday.

We can also compare 2010 data for Halliday 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 Halliday

The surname Halliday originates from Scotland and dates back to the 12th century. It is a locational name derived from the Scottish Gaelic phrase "halidh", meaning "holy day", and refers to an area where religious fairs or markets were held on holy days. The name is also associated with the place name Halliday in Angus, Scotland.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Halliday can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which documented those who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England. This includes entries for Adam de Haliday and John de Halydaye. The name also appears in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland in the 14th century, with mentions of individuals such as William de Halyday and John de Halyday.

In the 16th century, the name was often spelled as "Halyday" or "Halidaye". A notable bearer of the name from this period was Sir Andrew Halliday (c. 1495-1568), a Scottish lawyer and clergyman who served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh.

During the 17th century, the spelling "Halliday" became more standardized. One prominent individual with this surname was Sir Leonard Halliday (1617-1677), a Scottish merchant and Lord Provost of Edinburgh.

In the 18th century, the name continued to be associated with Scotland, with individuals such as John Halliday (1678-1756), a Scottish minister and author, and Thomas Halliday (1788-1877), a Scottish landscape painter.

The 19th century saw the name spread more widely across the British Isles and beyond. Notable bearers included Sir Andrew Halliday (1830-1919), a British colonial administrator in India, and Sir Frederick Halliday (1806-1901), a British naval officer and explorer.

Other notable individuals with the surname Halliday include Samuel Halliday (1685-1739), an Irish philosopher and writer, and David Halliday (1916-2010), an American physicist and author of influential textbooks on physics.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Halliday

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

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 Halliday 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 Halliday 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 Halliday was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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