2000
#121,058
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 132
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Halstad
A habitational surname meaning "village in the dale or valley".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Halstad. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Halstad 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Halstad in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Halstad, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.1%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Halstad
The surname Halstad originates from Norway, dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old Norse words "hallr" meaning "slope" and "stadr" meaning "place" or "homestead." This suggests that the name likely referred to someone who lived on or near a sloping hill.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of Norwegian medieval documents, from the year 1285. It mentions a person named "Hallstein Hallstadsson," indicating the use of the surname Halstad at that time.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in the Icelandic Landnámabók, a medieval manuscript detailing the settlement of Iceland. It mentions a Norwegian settler named Hallstein Halstadsson, who may have been a descendant of the earlier Hallstein Hallstadsson mentioned in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum.
The name Halstad was also associated with various place names in Norway, such as Halstad, a village in the municipality of Tønsberg, and Halstadbygda, a rural area in the municipality of Trondheim. These place names likely originated from the surname itself, reflecting the connection between the name and the geographic features of the region.
Notable individuals with the surname Halstad include:
1. Olav Halstad (1846-1923), a Norwegian politician and member of the Storting (the Norwegian parliament).
2. Knut Halstad (1901-1978), a Norwegian cross-country skier who competed in the 1924 and 1928 Winter Olympics.
3. Gunnar Halstad (1907-1987), a Norwegian writer and poet known for his works depicting rural life in Norway.
4. Liv Halstad (1912-1998), a Norwegian actress and theater director, active in the mid-20th century.
5. Ingrid Halstad (born 1972), a contemporary Norwegian author and children's book writer.
While the surname Halstad is relatively uncommon today, its rich history and connections to Norwegian heritage and place names make it a unique and intriguing name with deep roots in Scandinavian culture.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Halstad
Among Census respondents with the surname Halstad, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.1%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Halstad 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 Halstad surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.5% · 96
- Hispanic or Latino6.1% · 7
- Two or more races4.3% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 3
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Halstad
Halstad 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
#124,548
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 138
+6 bearers (+4.5%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 3,490 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-23 bearers (-16.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 21,209 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #121,058 | 132 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #124,548 | 138 | 0.05 | +6 bearers (+4.5%) | Down 3,490 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -23 bearers (-16.7%) | Down 21,209 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 Halstad 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 | #124,548 | #145,757 | -17.0% |
| Count | 138 | 115 | -16.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -23.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Halstad bearers went from 138 to 115 (-16.7% change). The surname moved down 21,209 positions in the national ranking, going from #124,548 to #145,757.
FAQ
Halstad surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Halstad?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Halstad. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Halstad?
Halstad ranks #145,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 115 people with the surname Halstad. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Halstad.
Has Halstad become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Halstad went from 138 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 23 (-16.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #124,548 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Halstad?
Among Census respondents with the surname Halstad, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.1%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Halstad in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.5% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Halstad appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.5%), Hispanic (6.1%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Halstad (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 Halstad mean?
A habitational surname meaning "village in the dale or valley". 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 Halstad (0.04 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 common is the surname Halstad?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Halstad on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.