2000
#2,649
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,542
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.65
Uncommon Last name
Scales
An occupational surname referring to a person who made or sold weighing scales.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 14,490 Americans carry the last name Scales. That puts it at #2,776 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.23 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 23,655 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Scales 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 Scales with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
14K
1 in 23,655
Census rank
#2,776
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
13K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 12,636 bearers of the surname Scales in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.23 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2776th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Scales, the largest self-reported group is Black at 53.5%. The next largest groups are White (37.1%) and Two or More Races (5.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Scales
The surname SCALES originated in England during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English word 'scealu', meaning a dish or scale, and was likely an occupational name for someone who made or sold scales, or a nickname for a person who had a scaly skin condition.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the SCALES surname can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where a Richard Scales is mentioned in Oxfordshire. The name also appears in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379, listing a Johannes Scalis.
In the 14th century, the SCALES surname was prominent in the county of Norfolk, where it was associated with the village of Scales, which may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the name. The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Scalers'.
Notable historical figures with the SCALES surname include Sir Robert Scales (c.1345-1369), a renowned English knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War and was appointed Seneschal of Normandy. Another prominent bearer of the name was Thomas Scales (c.1399-1460), an English politician and landowner who served as Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the SCALES surname spread across England, with pockets of the name found in various counties. One notable figure from this period was Walter Scales (1592-1659), an English clergyman and academic who served as Master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.
In the 18th century, the SCALES surname continued to be found throughout England, with notable bearers including John Scales (1735-1792), a British army officer who served in the American Revolutionary War, and William Scales (1760-1834), an English theologian and writer.
As the SCALES surname spread across the British Isles and beyond, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Skales, Skayles, and Scayles, reflecting regional dialects and scribal errors in historical records.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Scales
Among Census respondents with the surname Scales, the largest self-reported group is Black at 53.5%. The next largest groups are White (37.1%) and Two or More Races (5.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Scales 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 Scales surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American53.5% · 6,758
- White37.1% · 4,685
- Two or more races5.4% · 681
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 393
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 69
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 50
Timeline
Historical Census data for Scales
Scales 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
#2,732
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,190
+648 bearers (+5.2%)
Per 100,000 4.47
Rank movement Down 83 places
2020
#2,776
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,636
-554 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 4.23
Rank movement Down 44 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,649 | 12,542 | 4.65 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,732 | 13,190 | 4.47 | +648 bearers (+5.2%) | Down 83 places |
| 2020 | #2,776 | 12,636 | 4.23 | -554 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 44 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 Scales 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 | #2,732 | #2,776 | -1.6% |
| Count | 13,190 | 12,636 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 4.47 | 4.23 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Scales bearers went from 13,190 to 12,636 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 44 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,732 to #2,776.
FAQ
Scales surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Scales?
Name Census estimates that about 14,490 living Americans carry the surname Scales. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 23,655 residents.
How common is Scales?
Scales ranks #2,776 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.23 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 12,636 people with the surname Scales. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (14,490), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.23 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.23 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Scales.
Has Scales become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Scales went from 13,190 recorded bearers to 12,636. That is a decrease of 554 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,732 to #2,776.
What does the Census say about the background of Scales?
Among Census respondents with the surname Scales, the largest self-reported group is Black at 53.5%. The next largest groups are White (37.1%) and Two or More Races (5.4%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Scales in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.5% (6,758 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Scales appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (53.5%), White (37.1%), Two or More Races (5.4%). 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 Scales (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 Scales mean?
An occupational surname referring to a person who made or sold weighing scales. 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 Scales (4.23 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 common is the surname Scales?
Find out how many people have the last name Scales on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.