2000
#124,872
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 127
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Wallendal
Of Scandinavian origin, likely referring to someone from a valley or valley-dweller.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Wallendal. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wallendal 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Wallendal in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wallendal, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wallendal
The surname Wallendal has its origins in Sweden, dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from a combination of the Swedish words "vall" meaning "meadow" and "dal" meaning "valley", suggesting that the name originated from a family that resided in a valley with meadows.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Wallendal name can be found in the Swedish parish records of Värmland County, where a family by the name of Wallendal is mentioned in the late 1500s. It is possible that the name was initially a descriptor of the family's place of residence before becoming an established surname.
During the 17th century, the Wallendal name appeared in various Swedish historical documents, including court records and land registries. Notable individuals from this period include Erik Wallendal, a merchant born in Gothenburg in 1632, and Anna Wallendal, a landowner from Östergötland Province, whose estate was mentioned in a 1676 document.
As Sweden expanded its influence in the Baltic region during the 17th and 18th centuries, the Wallendal name spread to other parts of Scandinavia and Northern Europe. In the late 18th century, a branch of the Wallendal family settled in the city of Riga, which was then part of the Swedish Empire.
In the 19th century, several prominent individuals bore the Wallendal surname. Johan Wallendal (1810-1887) was a Swedish politician and member of the Riksdag, while Karl Wallendal (1822-1903) was a renowned architect who designed several notable buildings in Stockholm.
As immigration from Sweden to North America increased in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Wallendal name found its way to the United States and Canada. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in North America is that of Nils Wallendal, a Swedish immigrant who settled in Minnesota in 1872.
Other notable individuals with the Wallendal surname include the Swedish author and journalist Ulla Wallendal (1921-2005), and the Swedish-American engineer and inventor Nils Wallendal (1909-1994), who was instrumental in the development of early television technology.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wallendal
Among Census respondents with the surname Wallendal, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Wallendal 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 Wallendal surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 109
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 6
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wallendal
Wallendal 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
#135,593
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
-3 bearers (-2.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,721 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
-7 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,677 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #124,872 | 127 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #135,593 | 124 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.4%) | Down 10,721 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 8,677 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 Wallendal 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 | #135,593 | #144,270 | -6.4% |
| Count | 124 | 117 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wallendal bearers went from 124 to 117 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 8,677 positions in the national ranking, going from #135,593 to #144,270.
FAQ
Wallendal surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wallendal?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Wallendal. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Wallendal?
Wallendal ranks #144,270 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 117 people with the surname Wallendal. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), 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 Wallendal.
Has Wallendal become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wallendal went from 124 recorded bearers to 117. That is a decrease of 7 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #135,593 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Wallendal?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wallendal, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Wallendal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (109 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wallendal appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Hispanic (5.1%), Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Wallendal (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 Wallendal mean?
Of Scandinavian origin, likely referring to someone from a valley or valley-dweller. 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 Wallendal (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 many people have the surname Wallendal?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.