2000
#52,714
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 369
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.14
Very Rare Last name
Salling
A surname possibly derived from the Anglo-Saxon word 'salinga' meaning 'dwellers'.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 436 Americans carry the last name Salling. That puts it at #57,805 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.13 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 786,134 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Salling 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
436
1 in 786,134
Census rank
#57,805
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
380
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 380 bearers of the surname Salling in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.13 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 57805th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Salling, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Salling
The surname Salling is of Danish origin and can be traced back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Old Danish word "saling," which means "hall" or "large room." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near or worked in a hall or manor house.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Salling can be found in Danish parish records from the 16th and 17th centuries. One notable early bearer was Jens Salling, a Danish landowner and farmer who was born in the village of Salling in the mid-1600s.
The name Salling is also closely associated with the Salling Peninsula, a region in northwestern Denmark. It is possible that some individuals adopted the surname as a way to identify themselves as being from this particular area.
In the 18th century, the name appears in various historical documents, including court records and tax rolls. One notable figure from this time was Hans Salling, a Danish merchant and ship owner who lived in the port city of Aalborg from 1725 to 1798.
As the Salling family spread throughout Denmark and beyond, the name underwent slight variations in spelling, such as Salling and Sälling. However, the original spelling of Salling remained the most common.
Other notable bearers of the surname include:
1. Niels Salling (1828-1907), a Danish politician and member of the Landsting (upper house of parliament).
2. Børge Salling (1868-1943), a Danish architect known for his work in the National Romantic style.
3. Erik Salling (1924-1997), a Danish film director and screenwriter best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s.
4. Claus Salling (1925-2022), a Danish businessman and the founder of the Danish retail chain Salling Group.
5. Mark Salling (1982-2018), an American actor best known for his role as Noah "Puck" Puckerman on the television series Glee.
While the name Salling has its roots in Denmark, it has since been adopted by families in various parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Salling
Among Census respondents with the surname Salling, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Salling 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 Salling surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.8% · 345
- Two or more races4.2% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 3
- Black or African American0.5% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Salling
Salling 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
#58,876
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 344
-25 bearers (-6.8%)
Per 100,000 0.12
Rank movement Down 6,162 places
2020
#57,805
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 380
+36 bearers (+10.5%)
Per 100,000 0.13
Rank movement Up 1,071 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #52,714 | 369 | 0.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #58,876 | 344 | 0.12 | -25 bearers (-6.8%) | Down 6,162 places |
| 2020 | #57,805 | 380 | 0.13 | +36 bearers (+10.5%) | Up 1,071 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 Salling 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 | #58,876 | #57,805 | 1.8% |
| Count | 344 | 380 | 10.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.12 | 0.13 | 5.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Salling bearers went from 344 to 380 (+10.5% change). The surname moved up 1,071 positions in the national ranking, going from #58,876 to #57,805.
FAQ
Salling surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Salling?
Name Census estimates that about 436 living Americans carry the surname Salling. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 786,134 residents.
How common is Salling?
Salling ranks #57,805 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.13 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 380 people with the surname Salling. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (436), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.13 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.13 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 Salling.
Has Salling become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Salling went from 344 recorded bearers to 380. That is an increase of 36 (+10.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #58,876 to #57,805.
What does the Census say about the background of Salling?
Among Census respondents with the surname Salling, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Salling in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.8% (345 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Salling appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.8%), Two or More Races (4.2%), Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Salling (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 Salling mean?
A surname possibly derived from the Anglo-Saxon word 'salinga' meaning 'dwellers'. 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 Salling (0.13 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 Salling?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.