2000
#5,895
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,376
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.99
Rare Last name
Salley
An English occupational surname for someone who gathered or sold willow branches, derived from Old English "salig" meaning "willow."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,816 Americans carry the last name Salley. That puts it at #6,448 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.70 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 58,933 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Salley 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 Salley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.8K
1 in 58,933
Census rank
#6,448
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,072 bearers of the surname Salley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.70 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6448th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Salley, the largest self-reported group is White at 53.0%. The next largest groups are Black (40.2%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Salley
The surname SALLEY is of English origin, with roots tracing back to the medieval era. It is believed to have derived from the old English word "Sæli," which means "dwelling" or "hall," referring to a person who lived near a prominent hall or manor house.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name SALLEY can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of landowners and estates commissioned by William the Conqueror. The entry mentions a landowner named Radulfus de Saleya, which is likely an early variation of the modern SALLEY surname.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, the name SALLEY appeared in various records and manuscripts, often associated with places like Salley Abbey in Yorkshire, England, and the village of Salley in Lancashire. These place names likely influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.
Notable individuals with the surname SALLEY throughout history include:
1. John Salley (c. 1390-1458), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Chancellor of the University of Cambridge from 1452 until his death.
2. William Salley (c. 1520-1594), an English merchant and explorer who participated in Sir Francis Drake's circumnavigation of the globe from 1577 to 1580.
3. Elizabeth Salley (c. 1660-1720), a renowned English embroiderer and textile artist whose works were highly sought after by the nobility and aristocracy of her time.
4. Sir Thomas Salley (1745-1822), a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars, ultimately attaining the rank of Admiral.
5. Robert Salley (1868-1932), an American politician and lawyer who served as the Attorney General of South Carolina from 1915 to 1919.
The surname SALLEY has also been associated with various place names and locations, including Salley in Derbyshire, Salley Priory in Yorkshire, and Salley Abbey in Lancashire, further cementing its English roots and historical significance.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Salley
Among Census respondents with the surname Salley, the largest self-reported group is White at 53.0%. The next largest groups are Black (40.2%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Salley 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 Salley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White53.0% · 2,689
- Black or African American40.2% · 2,041
- Two or more races3.5% · 176
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 113
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 36
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Salley
Salley 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
#6,327
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,392
+16 bearers (+0.3%)
Per 100,000 1.83
Rank movement Down 432 places
2020
#6,448
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,072
-320 bearers (-5.9%)
Per 100,000 1.70
Rank movement Down 121 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,895 | 5,376 | 1.99 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,327 | 5,392 | 1.83 | +16 bearers (+0.3%) | Down 432 places |
| 2020 | #6,448 | 5,072 | 1.70 | -320 bearers (-5.9%) | Down 121 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 Salley 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 | #6,327 | #6,448 | -1.9% |
| Count | 5,392 | 5,072 | -5.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.83 | 1.70 | -7.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Salley bearers went from 5,392 to 5,072 (-5.9% change). The surname moved down 121 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,327 to #6,448.
FAQ
Salley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Salley?
Name Census estimates that about 5,816 living Americans carry the surname Salley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 58,933 residents.
How common is Salley?
Salley ranks #6,448 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.70 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,072 people with the surname Salley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,816), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.70 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Salley.
Has Salley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Salley went from 5,392 recorded bearers to 5,072. That is a decrease of 320 (-5.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,327 to #6,448.
What does the Census say about the background of Salley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Salley, the largest self-reported group is White at 53.0%. The next largest groups are Black (40.2%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Salley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.0% (2,689 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Salley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (53.0%), Black (40.2%), Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Salley (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 Salley mean?
An English occupational surname for someone who gathered or sold willow branches, derived from Old English "salig" meaning "willow." 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 Salley (1.70 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 Salley?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.