2000
#132,259
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Vislay
A variant spelling of the Scottish surname Wiseley or Wisely, of uncertain meaning and origin.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 115 Americans carry the last name Vislay. That puts it at #155,682 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,980,473 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vislay 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
115
1 in 2,980,473
Census rank
#155,682
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
100
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 100 bearers of the surname Vislay in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155682nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vislay, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vislay
The surname Vislay is of English origin, with its earliest known records dating back to the 13th century in the county of Yorkshire. The name is believed to be derived from the Old English words "vic" meaning a dairy farm or small settlement, and "leah" meaning a woodland clearing or meadow.
This suggests that the name may have originated from a particular place name, referring to a person who lived in or near a wooded area used for dairy farming or grazing livestock. However, no definitive records of such a place name have been found.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname appears in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where a certain William Vislay is listed as a landowner in the village of Wakefield, Yorkshire. This document provides valuable insight into the distribution of surnames and landholdings during the medieval period.
In the 14th century, the name appears in various forms, such as Visleye, Vislaye, and Vislei, reflecting the variations in spelling and pronunciation common in that era. Notable individuals from this time include John Vislei, a merchant from York who is mentioned in the city's guild records in 1372.
By the 16th century, the spelling had largely settled on the form "Vislay," as seen in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Beverley, where the marriage of Thomas Vislay and Elizabeth Wilkinson is recorded in 1587.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Sir Robert Vislay, a landowner and minor nobleman who lived in the late 15th century. He is mentioned in the Paston Letters, a collection of correspondence that provides a glimpse into the lives of the Paston family, a prominent Norfolk gentry.
Another notable figure was Elizabeth Vislay, born in 1623 in Lancashire, who was among the early settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 17th century. Her name appears in the records of the town of Ipswich, where she and her husband were among the founding families.
In the 18th century, the Vislay family seems to have been well-established in the counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire, with several members serving in various capacities, including John Vislay, a merchant and alderman in the city of York, who lived from 1712 to 1786.
The 19th century saw the name spread further across England, with notable bearers such as William Vislay, a renowned landscape painter born in 1814 in Derbyshire, and Sir Edward Vislay, a prominent lawyer and judge who served as the Lord Chief Justice of England from 1875 to 1892.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vislay
Among Census respondents with the surname Vislay, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Vislay 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 Vislay surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.0% · 89
- Hispanic or Latino10.0% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vislay
Vislay 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
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-12 bearers (-10.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 21,510 places
2020
#155,682
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
-6 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 1,913 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #132,259 | 118 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | -12 bearers (-10.2%) | Down 21,510 places |
| 2020 | #155,682 | 100 | 0.03 | -6 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 1,913 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 Vislay 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 | #153,769 | #155,682 | -1.2% |
| Count | 106 | 100 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -16.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vislay bearers went from 106 to 100 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 1,913 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #155,682.
FAQ
Vislay surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vislay?
Name Census estimates that about 115 living Americans carry the surname Vislay. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,980,473 residents.
How common is Vislay?
Vislay ranks #155,682 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 100 people with the surname Vislay. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (115), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Vislay.
Has Vislay become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vislay went from 106 recorded bearers to 100. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #153,769 to #155,682.
What does the Census say about the background of Vislay?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vislay, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). 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 Vislay in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.0% (89 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vislay appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.0%), Hispanic (10.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). 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 Vislay (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 Vislay mean?
A variant spelling of the Scottish surname Wiseley or Wisely, of uncertain meaning and origin. 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 Vislay (0.03 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 Vislay?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.