Find out how popular the last name Schall is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Schall.

Schall, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Schall surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Schall in America

Schall is the 8679th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Schall surname appeared 3,786 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Schall.

We can also compare 2010 data for Schall to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Schall

The surname Schall has its origins in Germany and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old High German word "scal," which means "loud" or "echoing." This suggests that the name may have originally been a nickname given to someone with a loud or booming voice.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Schall can be found in the records of the city of Cologne, where a person named Henricus Schal is mentioned in a document from 1189. In the following centuries, variations of the name, such as Schal, Schale, and Schall, began to appear in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria and Saxony.

During the 13th century, the name Schall was also found in some medieval manuscripts and records, such as the "Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis," which contains a reference to a person named Conradus Schal in 1244.

In the 14th century, the name Schall gained prominence with the rise of a famous German family of that name. Johannes Schall von Bell (1285-1349), a nobleman and military commander, was a notable figure during this period. His descendants continued to use the name Schall and some of them held important positions in the Church and government.

Another significant bearer of the Schall surname was Johann Adam Schall von Bell (1592-1666), a German Jesuit missionary and astronomer who served at the court of the Shunzhi Emperor in China. He made important contributions to the study of astronomy and introduced Western scientific knowledge to China.

In the 18th century, Johann Friedrich Schall (1712-1790) was a notable German composer and organist who worked in Strasbourg. His works included church music and instrumental pieces.

During the 19th century, the Schall name was also associated with several notable figures, such as Friedrich Schall (1805-1882), a German physician and writer, and Karl Schall (1857-1923), a German architect and urban planner who designed several buildings in Berlin.

These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have borne the surname Schall, which has its roots in the German language and has been associated with various notable figures in fields such as military, religion, science, music, and architecture.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Schall

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Schall.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Schall was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Schall has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Schall was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Schall, please contact us.

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