2000
#36,463
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 579
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.21
Very Rare Last name
Salles
An archaic French surname originating from small geographical locations called "salles".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 891 Americans carry the last name Salles. That puts it at #31,863 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.26 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 384,685 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Salles 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
891
1 in 384,685
Census rank
#31,863
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
777
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 777 bearers of the surname Salles in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.26 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 31863rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Salles, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.5%) and Black (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Salles
The surname SALLES originated in France during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old French word "salle," meaning "hall" or "dwelling place." The name likely referred to someone who lived in or near a prominent hall or manor house.
In the early days, the name was often spelled as "Salle" or "Sallas." It was particularly prevalent in the regions of Normandy, Brittany, and Poitou, where many families bearing this surname can be traced back to the 11th and 12th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name SALLES can be found in the Domesday Book, a survey of landowners commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The book mentions a landowner named Rainaldus de Salla in Somerset, England.
During the Middle Ages, the name SALLES appeared in various records and documents across France. For instance, Jehan de Salles was a prominent French nobleman who served as a royal ambassador in the 14th century.
In the 16th century, the explorer Juan de Salles y Valdés, born in Spain around 1500, led several expeditions to the Americas and helped establish Spanish settlements in modern-day Mexico and Florida.
Another notable figure with the surname SALLES was François de Salles, a French Catholic bishop and writer who lived from 1567 to 1622. He is best known for his work "Introduction to the Devout Life," which became a spiritual classic.
In the 18th century, Jean-Baptiste Salles was a renowned French architect who designed several notable buildings in Paris, including the Church of Saint-Sulpice.
The name SALLES has also been associated with various place names and locations throughout history. For example, the village of Salles-la-Source in southwestern France derives its name from the Old French word "salle," reflecting the surname's origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Salles
Among Census respondents with the surname Salles, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.5%) and Black (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Salles 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 Salles surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.3% · 523
- Hispanic or Latino25.5% · 198
- Black or African American2.8% · 22
- Two or more races2.4% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Salles
Salles 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
#37,125
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 601
+22 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.20
Rank movement Down 662 places
2020
#31,863
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 777
+176 bearers (+29.3%)
Per 100,000 0.26
Rank movement Up 5,262 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #36,463 | 579 | 0.21 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #37,125 | 601 | 0.20 | +22 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 662 places |
| 2020 | #31,863 | 777 | 0.26 | +176 bearers (+29.3%) | Up 5,262 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 Salles 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 | #37,125 | #31,863 | 14.2% |
| Count | 601 | 777 | 29.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.20 | 0.26 | 30.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Salles bearers went from 601 to 777 (+29.3% change). The surname moved up 5,262 positions in the national ranking, going from #37,125 to #31,863.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Salles
FAQ
Salles surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Salles?
Name Census estimates that about 891 living Americans carry the surname Salles. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 384,685 residents.
How common is Salles?
Salles ranks #31,863 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.26 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 777 people with the surname Salles. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (891), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.26 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.26 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 Salles.
Has Salles become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Salles went from 601 recorded bearers to 777. That is an increase of 176 (+29.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #37,125 to #31,863.
What does the Census say about the background of Salles?
Among Census respondents with the surname Salles, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.5%) and Black (2.8%). 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 Salles in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.3% (523 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Salles appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (67.3%), Hispanic (25.5%), Black (2.8%). 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 Salles (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 Salles mean?
An archaic French surname originating from small geographical locations called "salles". 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 Salles (0.26 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 Salles?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.