2000
#39,560
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 523
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.19
Very Rare Last name
Haslem
An English habitational surname that refers to someone who hailed from a place called Haslem, Haslem, or Halesleam.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 773 Americans carry the last name Haslem. That puts it at #35,833 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.23 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 443,408 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Haslem 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 Haslem with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
773
1 in 443,408
Census rank
#35,833
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
674
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 674 bearers of the surname Haslem in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.23 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 35833rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Haslem, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.6%. The next largest groups are Black (29.7%) and Hispanic (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Haslem
The surname Haslem is of English origin, deriving from the Old English words "hæs" meaning "brushwood" or "underwood" and "lẽam" meaning "a woodland clearing" or "an open space in a wood". This suggests that the name was initially given to someone who lived near or in a woodland clearing or a small open space within a wooded area.
The earliest recorded spelling of the name appears to be in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as Hæsleme, referring to a place name in Surrey. This indicates that the surname Haslem likely originated in the southern counties of England during the 11th century or earlier.
In the 13th century, records show the name spelled as Hasselme and Hasselum, further reinforcing its connection to the Old English words for woodland clearings. Some variations of the spelling include Haslam, Haslem, and Haselam.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John de Haslum, who was recorded in the Assize Rolls of Lancashire in 1285. Another early example is William de Haselum, mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1327.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, several notable individuals bore the surname Haslem. These include Richard Haslam (1553-1618), an English clergyman who served as the Bishop of Chester, and Thomas Haslam (1619-1672), an English politician who was a Member of Parliament for Newcastle-under-Lyme.
In the 18th century, John Haslem (1708-1784) was a prominent English surveyor and cartographer, known for his detailed maps of various counties in England. Additionally, William Haslem (1737-1820) was a British naval officer who served in the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars.
Another notable bearer of the name was Edward Haslem (1825-1896), a British architect who designed several churches and other buildings in the Gothic Revival style. His works include St. Stephen's Church in Bournemouth and St. Michael's Church in Bournemouth.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Haslem
Among Census respondents with the surname Haslem, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.6%. The next largest groups are Black (29.7%) and Hispanic (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Haslem 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 Haslem surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.6% · 415
- Black or African American29.7% · 200
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 30
- Two or more races2.7% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Haslem
Haslem 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
#39,419
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 558
+35 bearers (+6.7%)
Per 100,000 0.19
Rank movement Up 141 places
2020
#35,833
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 674
+116 bearers (+20.8%)
Per 100,000 0.23
Rank movement Up 3,586 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #39,560 | 523 | 0.19 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #39,419 | 558 | 0.19 | +35 bearers (+6.7%) | Up 141 places |
| 2020 | #35,833 | 674 | 0.23 | +116 bearers (+20.8%) | Up 3,586 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 Haslem 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 | #39,419 | #35,833 | 9.1% |
| Count | 558 | 674 | 20.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.19 | 0.23 | 18.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Haslem bearers went from 558 to 674 (+20.8% change). The surname moved up 3,586 positions in the national ranking, going from #39,419 to #35,833.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Haslem
FAQ
Haslem surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Haslem?
Name Census estimates that about 773 living Americans carry the surname Haslem. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 443,408 residents.
How common is Haslem?
Haslem ranks #35,833 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.23 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 674 people with the surname Haslem. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (773), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.23 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.23 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 Haslem.
Has Haslem become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Haslem went from 558 recorded bearers to 674. That is an increase of 116 (+20.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #39,419 to #35,833.
What does the Census say about the background of Haslem?
Among Census respondents with the surname Haslem, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.6%. The next largest groups are Black (29.7%) and Hispanic (4.5%). 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 Haslem in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.6% (415 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Haslem appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (61.6%), Black (29.7%), Hispanic (4.5%). 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 Haslem (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 Haslem mean?
An English habitational surname that refers to someone who hailed from a place called Haslem, Haslem, or Halesleam. 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 Haslem (0.23 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 Haslem?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.