2000
#141,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Sallings
A locational surname referring to someone from a place called Sallings or similar.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Sallings. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sallings 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Sallings in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sallings, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.9%. The next largest groups are Black (9.6%) and Two or More Races (6.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sallings
The surname Sallings has its origins in England, where it emerged in the Middle Ages. It likely derived from an Old English place name that included the element "sæl," meaning a hall or dwelling. This suggests the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a particular hall or manor house.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Pipe Rolls of Worcestershire from 1275, which mention a William Sallings. Other early spellings include Salynges, Salyngges, and Sallynges, reflecting the variations common in medieval records before spelling became standardized.
In the 14th century, the name is found in various locations across southern and central England, from Sussex to Warwickshire. This indicates that by this time, bearers of the name had spread to different regions, possibly through migration or the establishment of new branches of the family.
A notable early bearer of the surname was Sir John Sallings, who served as a member of parliament for Herefordshire in the early 15th century. Records show he was born around 1380 and lived until the mid-1400s.
During the Tudor period, the Sallings name is associated with several landed gentry families in counties like Shropshire and Staffordshire. One prominent figure was Thomas Sallings, born in 1525, who served as a justice of the peace and held estates in Staffordshire until his death in 1593.
In the 17th century, the name appears in various parish records across England, including baptisms, marriages, and burials. One such entry is the baptism of Elizabeth Sallings in 1629 at St. Mary's Church in Stafford.
By the 18th century, the name had spread more widely across the country. Notable bearers include Robert Sallings, born in 1712 in Lincolnshire, who became a respected clergyman and author of several theological works.
Throughout its history, the Sallings surname has been associated with various occupations, from landowners and gentry to clergymen, merchants, and tradesmen. Its origins as a place name reflect the rich tapestry of local and regional identities that contributed to the development of English surnames.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sallings
Among Census respondents with the surname Sallings, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.9%. The next largest groups are Black (9.6%) and Two or More Races (6.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Sallings 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 Sallings surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.9% · 85
- Black or African American9.6% · 11
- Two or more races6.1% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.3% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sallings
Sallings 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
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
+5 bearers (+4.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,413 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+2 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 444 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #141,788 | 108 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.6%) | Down 4,413 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.8%) | Up 444 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 Sallings 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 | #146,201 | #145,757 | 0.3% |
| Count | 113 | 115 | 1.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sallings bearers went from 113 to 115 (+1.8% change). The surname moved up 444 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #145,757.
FAQ
Sallings surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sallings?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Sallings. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Sallings?
Sallings ranks #145,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 115 people with the surname Sallings. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Sallings.
Has Sallings become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sallings went from 113 recorded bearers to 115. That is an increase of 2 (+1.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #146,201 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Sallings?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sallings, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.9%. The next largest groups are Black (9.6%) and Two or More Races (6.1%). 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 Sallings in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.9% (85 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sallings appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (73.9%), Black (9.6%), Two or More Races (6.1%). 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 Sallings (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 Sallings mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from a place called Sallings or similar. 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 Sallings (0.04 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 common is the surname Sallings?
Want to know how many people have the surname Sallings? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.