2000
#12,405
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,295
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.85
Rare Last name
Walthall
A locational surname referring to someone from any of the places named Walthall in England.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,506 Americans carry the last name Walthall. That puts it at #13,343 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 136,773 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Walthall 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 Walthall with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.5K
1 in 136,773
Census rank
#13,343
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,185 bearers of the surname Walthall in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13343rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Walthall, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.8%. The next largest groups are Black (19.8%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Walthall
The surname WALTHALL is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "weald" meaning a wood or forest, and "halh" meaning a nook or corner of land. It is a toponymic surname, meaning it was originally taken from a place name indicating someone who lived in a wooded area or forest clearing.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname WALTHALL can be traced back to the 12th century in various counties across southern England, particularly in Wiltshire, Dorset, and Somerset. Variations in spelling such as Walthall, Walthal, and Waltall were common in medieval records.
One of the earliest known references to the name appears in the Pipe Rolls of Wiltshire from 1196, where a Richard de Walthal is mentioned. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also record a John de Walthal in Somerset.
In the 14th century, the name WALTHALL is found in the Subsidy Rolls of Dorset from 1327, listing a Walterus de Walthal. Additionally, the Lay Subsidy Rolls of Somerset from 1334 include a Willelmus Walthall.
A notable historical figure with the surname WALTHALL was Sir William Walthall (c. 1440-1516), a prominent judge and serjeant-at-law during the reign of Henry VIII. He served as a Justice of the King's Bench and is mentioned in various legal records from the period.
Another individual of note was Thomas Walthall (1570-1630), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 1624 to 1625.
In the 17th century, Edward Walthall (1625-1692) was a prominent English lawyer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Lyme Regis and was involved in the Glorious Revolution of 1688.
Later, in the 18th century, John Walthall (1718-1798) was a renowned British architect who designed several notable buildings, including the Radcliffe Observatory in Oxford.
Moving into the 19th century, Major General Edward Crofton Walthall (1834-1898) was a distinguished Confederate officer during the American Civil War, serving under General Robert E. Lee and commanding a brigade at the Battle of Chickamauga.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Walthall
Among Census respondents with the surname Walthall, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.8%. The next largest groups are Black (19.8%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Walthall 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 Walthall surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.8% · 1,547
- Black or African American19.8% · 433
- Two or more races4.9% · 107
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 67
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Walthall
Walthall 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
#13,525
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,243
-52 bearers (-2.3%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Down 1,120 places
2020
#13,343
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,185
-58 bearers (-2.6%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Up 182 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,405 | 2,295 | 0.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,525 | 2,243 | 0.76 | -52 bearers (-2.3%) | Down 1,120 places |
| 2020 | #13,343 | 2,185 | 0.73 | -58 bearers (-2.6%) | Up 182 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 Walthall 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 | #13,525 | #13,343 | 1.3% |
| Count | 2,243 | 2,185 | -2.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.76 | 0.73 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Walthall bearers went from 2,243 to 2,185 (-2.6% change). The surname moved up 182 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,525 to #13,343.
FAQ
Walthall surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Walthall?
Name Census estimates that about 2,506 living Americans carry the surname Walthall. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 136,773 residents.
How common is Walthall?
Walthall ranks #13,343 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,185 people with the surname Walthall. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,506), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.73 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Walthall.
Has Walthall become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Walthall went from 2,243 recorded bearers to 2,185. That is a decrease of 58 (-2.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,525 to #13,343.
What does the Census say about the background of Walthall?
Among Census respondents with the surname Walthall, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.8%. The next largest groups are Black (19.8%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Walthall in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.8% (1,547 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Walthall appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (70.8%), Black (19.8%), Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Walthall (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 Walthall mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from any of the places named Walthall in England. 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 Walthall (0.73 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 common is the surname Walthall?
You can see how many people have the last name Walthall on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.