2000
#4,731
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,860
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.54
Rare Last name
Walling
Derived from a place name or referring to someone who lived near a stone wall or earthen embankment.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,354 Americans carry the last name Walling. That puts it at #5,250 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.15 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 46,608 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Walling 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 Walling with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.4K
1 in 46,608
Census rank
#5,250
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,413 bearers of the surname Walling in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.15 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5250th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Walling, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Walling
Among Census respondents with the surname Walling, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Walling 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 Walling surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.1% · 5,780
- Two or more races4.6% · 292
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 197
- Black or African American0.9% · 58
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 48
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 38
Timeline
Historical Census data for Walling
Walling 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
#4,842
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,275
+415 bearers (+6.0%)
Per 100,000 2.47
Rank movement Down 111 places
2020
#5,250
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,413
-862 bearers (-11.8%)
Per 100,000 2.15
Rank movement Down 408 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,731 | 6,860 | 2.54 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,842 | 7,275 | 2.47 | +415 bearers (+6.0%) | Down 111 places |
| 2020 | #5,250 | 6,413 | 2.15 | -862 bearers (-11.8%) | Down 408 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 Walling 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 | #4,842 | #5,250 | -8.4% |
| Count | 7,275 | 6,413 | -11.8% |
| Per 100K | 2.47 | 2.15 | -13.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Walling bearers went from 7,275 to 6,413 (-11.8% change). The surname moved down 408 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,842 to #5,250.
FAQ
Walling surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Walling?
Name Census estimates that about 7,354 living Americans carry the surname Walling. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 46,608 residents.
How common is Walling?
Walling ranks #5,250 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.15 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,413 people with the surname Walling. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,354), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.15 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Walling.
Has Walling become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Walling went from 7,275 recorded bearers to 6,413. That is a decrease of 862 (-11.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,842 to #5,250.
What does the Census say about the background of Walling?
Among Census respondents with the surname Walling, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Walling in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.1% (5,780 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Walling appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.1%), Two or More Races (4.6%), Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Walling (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 Walling mean?
Derived from a place name or referring to someone who lived near a stone wall or earthen embankment. 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 Walling (2.15 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 Walling?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.