2000
#3,740
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,713
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.23
Rare Last name
Halstead
A locational surname referring to any of several places in England meaning "safe place" or "healthy place."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,663 Americans carry the last name Halstead. That puts it at #4,082 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.82 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 35,471 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Halstead 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 Halstead with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.7K
1 in 35,471
Census rank
#4,082
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,427 bearers of the surname Halstead in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.82 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4082nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Halstead, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Halstead
The surname Halstead is of English origin, derived from the Old English words 'halh' meaning a nook or remote valley, and 'stede' meaning a place or homestead. It refers to someone who lived in a remote valley or secluded place.
One of the earliest recorded spellings of the name is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as 'Halestede'. This entry refers to a place in Essex, suggesting that the name may have originated in that county.
In the 13th century, records show various spellings of the name, including 'Halstede', 'Halghstede', and 'Halstede'. These variations reflect the changes in pronunciation and spelling over time.
The name is also closely associated with several places in England, such as Halstead in Essex, Halstead in Kent, and Halstead in Leicestershire. These place names likely influenced the adoption of the surname by families living in those areas.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Halstead was John de Halstead, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Worcestershire in 1230. Another notable bearer of the name was Sir William Halstead, a 14th-century knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War.
In the 16th century, the surname gained prominence with Richard Halstead (c. 1515-1580), an English Protestant martyr who was burned at the stake during the reign of Queen Mary I. His grandson, Nathaniel Halstead (1593-1670), was a prominent Puritan minister in England.
Other notable individuals with the Halstead surname include William Halstead (1852-1922), an American surgeon and pioneer in the field of anesthesia and surgical techniques, and Murat Halstead (1829-1908), an American journalist and editor of the Cincinnati Commercial.
The surname Halstead has also been carried by several notable figures in literature and the arts, such as Winifred Halstead Cousins (1877-1949), an American author and playwright, and Charles Halstead (1867-1955), an English painter and illustrator.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Halstead
Among Census respondents with the surname Halstead, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Halstead 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 Halstead surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.8% · 7,402
- Two or more races4.2% · 353
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 314
- Black or African American3.2% · 271
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 60
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 27
Timeline
Historical Census data for Halstead
Halstead 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
#3,944
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,027
+314 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 3.06
Rank movement Down 204 places
2020
#4,082
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,427
-600 bearers (-6.6%)
Per 100,000 2.82
Rank movement Down 138 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,740 | 8,713 | 3.23 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,944 | 9,027 | 3.06 | +314 bearers (+3.6%) | Down 204 places |
| 2020 | #4,082 | 8,427 | 2.82 | -600 bearers (-6.6%) | Down 138 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 Halstead 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 | #3,944 | #4,082 | -3.5% |
| Count | 9,027 | 8,427 | -6.6% |
| Per 100K | 3.06 | 2.82 | -7.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Halstead bearers went from 9,027 to 8,427 (-6.6% change). The surname moved down 138 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,944 to #4,082.
FAQ
Halstead surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Halstead?
Name Census estimates that about 9,663 living Americans carry the surname Halstead. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 35,471 residents.
How common is Halstead?
Halstead ranks #4,082 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.82 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,427 people with the surname Halstead. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,663), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.82 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.82 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Halstead.
Has Halstead become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Halstead went from 9,027 recorded bearers to 8,427. That is a decrease of 600 (-6.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,944 to #4,082.
What does the Census say about the background of Halstead?
Among Census respondents with the surname Halstead, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Halstead in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.8% (7,402 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Halstead appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.8%), Two or More Races (4.2%), Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Halstead (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 Halstead mean?
A locational surname referring to any of several places in England meaning "safe place" or "healthy place." 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 Halstead (2.82 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 Americans have the surname Halstead?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.