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

Walling, 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 Walling surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Walling in America

Walling is the 4842nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Walling surname appeared 7,275 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Walling.

We can also compare 2010 data for Walling 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 Walling

The surname Walling is of Anglo-Saxon origin, deriving from the Old English word 'weall' meaning 'wall' or 'rampart'. It is believed to have originated as an occupational name for someone who lived near a wall or was responsible for the maintenance of a town's walls.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Walling can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where a person named Wallinc is listed as a landowner in Yorkshire. This suggests that the name was already established in England by the late 11th century.

In the 13th century, the surname appeared in various spellings such as Wallyng, Wallynge, and Wallingge, reflecting the phonetic variations of the time. The earliest known bearer of the name was William Wallyng, recorded in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire in 1273.

The name Walling may also have been derived from certain place names, such as Walling in Kent or Walling Street in Northamptonshire. These place names likely originated from the same Old English root, 'weall'.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Walling. One of the earliest was Sir Thomas Walling (c. 1370-1430), a prominent English judge and member of Parliament during the reign of Henry V.

In the 16th century, John Walling (c. 1540-1605) was an English clergyman and theologian who served as the Archdeacon of Norfolk. His contemporary, William Walling (c. 1550-1620), was a respected lawyer and author of legal treatises.

During the American Revolutionary War, Levi Walling (1751-1826) served as a captain in the Continental Army and fought in several major battles, including the Battle of Monmouth.

In the 19th century, Willoughby Walling (1844-1909) was an influential American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives and as a judge on the Ohio Supreme Court.

Another notable bearer of the name was William English Walling (1877-1936), an American labor reformer and author who co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Walling

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

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 Walling 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 Walling 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 Walling was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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