2000
#20,191
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,227
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.45
Rare Last name
Hallstrom
A Swedish locational surname referring to someone from a homestead or hall.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,659 Americans carry the last name Hallstrom. That puts it at #18,805 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.48 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 206,603 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hallstrom 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
1.7K
1 in 206,603
Census rank
#18,805
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,447 bearers of the surname Hallstrom in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.48 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 18805th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hallstrom, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hallstrom
The surname Hallstrom has its origins in Sweden, dating back to the 17th century. It is derived from the Swedish words "hall" meaning a large room or hall, and "ström" meaning stream or current, suggesting a connection to a dwelling or location near a flowing body of water.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hallstrom can be found in the parish records of Västergötland, a historical province in southwestern Sweden. In 1642, a man named Nils Hallstrom was listed as a landowner in the village of Gräfsnäs.
During the 18th century, the Hallstrom name appeared in various Swedish military records, indicating its bearers' involvement in the country's armed forces. One notable figure was Johan Hallstrom, born in 1712, who served as a lieutenant in the Skaraborgs Regiment during the Swedish-Russian War of 1741-1743.
In the 19th century, the Hallstrom name gained prominence in the field of education. Carl Hallstrom, born in 1826, was a respected headmaster at the prestigious Katedralskolan in Lund, southern Sweden, from 1865 until his retirement in 1891.
Another notable bearer of the Hallstrom name was the Swedish author and playwright Vilhelm Hallstrom, born in 1844 in Stockholm. He was a prominent figure in the literary circles of his time and authored several acclaimed works, including the novel "En gammal historia" (An Old Story) in 1885.
The surname Hallstrom also found its way to the United States through Swedish immigration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. One of the earliest recorded Hallstroms in America was Anders Hallstrom, who arrived in New York City in 1874 from the province of Östergötland.
In the realm of academia, Gustaf Hallstrom, born in 1880 in Gävle, Sweden, made significant contributions to the field of paleontology. He served as a professor at the University of Stockholm and conducted extensive research on fossils, particularly those found in the Silurian and Ordovician periods.
The name Hallstrom has been associated with various places and localities throughout Sweden, such as the Hallströms kvarn (Hallstrom's mill) in the town of Lidköping, and the Hallströms park (Hallstrom's park) in the city of Västerås, both named after individuals or families bearing this surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hallstrom
Among Census respondents with the surname Hallstrom, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Hallstrom 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 Hallstrom surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 1,349
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 50
- Two or more races2.4% · 35
- Black or African American0.4% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hallstrom
Hallstrom 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
#19,456
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,389
+162 bearers (+13.2%)
Per 100,000 0.47
Rank movement Up 735 places
2020
#18,805
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,447
+58 bearers (+4.2%)
Per 100,000 0.48
Rank movement Up 651 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #20,191 | 1,227 | 0.45 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #19,456 | 1,389 | 0.47 | +162 bearers (+13.2%) | Up 735 places |
| 2020 | #18,805 | 1,447 | 0.48 | +58 bearers (+4.2%) | Up 651 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 Hallstrom 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 | #19,456 | #18,805 | 3.3% |
| Count | 1,389 | 1,447 | 4.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.47 | 0.48 | 3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hallstrom bearers went from 1,389 to 1,447 (+4.2% change). The surname moved up 651 positions in the national ranking, going from #19,456 to #18,805.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hallstrom
FAQ
Hallstrom surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hallstrom?
Name Census estimates that about 1,659 living Americans carry the surname Hallstrom. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 206,603 residents.
How common is Hallstrom?
Hallstrom ranks #18,805 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.48 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,447 people with the surname Hallstrom. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,659), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.48 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.48 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Hallstrom.
Has Hallstrom become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hallstrom went from 1,389 recorded bearers to 1,447. That is an increase of 58 (+4.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #19,456 to #18,805.
What does the Census say about the background of Hallstrom?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hallstrom, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Hallstrom in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (1,349 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hallstrom appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Hispanic (3.5%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Hallstrom (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 Hallstrom mean?
A Swedish locational surname referring to someone from a homestead 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 Hallstrom (0.48 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 surname Hallstrom?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.