2000
#12,181
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,345
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.87
Rare Last name
Yale
A habitational surname referring to someone who lived near a fertile upland region or hillside.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,445 Americans carry the last name Yale. That puts it at #13,606 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.71 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 140,186 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Yale 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 Yale with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.4K
1 in 140,186
Census rank
#13,606
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,132 bearers of the surname Yale in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.71 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13606th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Yale, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Yale
The surname YALE is of English origin and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is thought to have originated from a place name, possibly the town of Yale in Denbighshire, Wales, which itself is derived from the Old English "gal" meaning "fertile upland".
Another theory suggests that the name YALE may have originated from the Old English word "gale" meaning "storm" or "gale wind". This could indicate that early bearers of the name lived in areas prone to strong winds or storms.
One of the earliest known references to the surname YALE can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which record a William de Yale in Oxfordshire. The Hundred Rolls were administrative records created during the reign of King Edward I.
In the 14th century, the surname YALE appeared in various forms, such as "Yale", "Yail", and "Yalle". These early spelling variations were common before the standardization of English spelling.
A notable early bearer of the YALE surname was Sir Richard Yale (c. 1370 - 1427), a Welsh landowner and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Denbighshire. He was also the Constable of Rhuddlan Castle.
During the 16th century, the YALE surname appeared in the Visitation of Denbighshire, a genealogical record compiled in 1592. This record mentions several members of the Yale family, including Thomas Yale (1518 - 1577), who served as the High Sheriff of Denbighshire in 1569.
In the 17th century, a prominent figure with the YALE surname was Elihu Yale (1649 - 1721), a wealthy merchant and philanthropist born in Boston, Massachusetts. He made significant donations to the Collegiate School in Connecticut, which later became Yale University and was named in his honor.
Another notable bearer of the YALE surname was Linus Yale Jr. (1821 - 1868), an American inventor and mechanical engineer who revolutionized the lock industry with his famous cylinder lock design. His company, Yale Lock Manufacturing Company, became one of the largest lock manufacturers in the world.
Throughout history, the YALE surname has been associated with various places, including Yale in Denbighshire, Wales, and Yale, Oklahoma, a town in the United States named after the Yale family who settled there in the late 19th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yale
Among Census respondents with the surname Yale, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Yale 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 Yale surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.8% · 1,915
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 81
- Two or more races3.4% · 73
- Black or African American1.6% · 35
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Yale
Yale 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
#12,830
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,402
+57 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Down 649 places
2020
#13,606
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,132
-270 bearers (-11.2%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Down 776 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,181 | 2,345 | 0.87 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,830 | 2,402 | 0.81 | +57 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 649 places |
| 2020 | #13,606 | 2,132 | 0.71 | -270 bearers (-11.2%) | Down 776 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 Yale 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 | #12,830 | #13,606 | -6.0% |
| Count | 2,402 | 2,132 | -11.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.81 | 0.71 | -11.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Yale bearers went from 2,402 to 2,132 (-11.2% change). The surname moved down 776 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,830 to #13,606.
FAQ
Yale surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Yale?
Name Census estimates that about 2,445 living Americans carry the surname Yale. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 140,186 residents.
How common is Yale?
Yale ranks #13,606 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.71 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 2,132 people with the surname Yale. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,445), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.71 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.71 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 Yale.
Has Yale become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Yale went from 2,402 recorded bearers to 2,132. That is a decrease of 270 (-11.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,830 to #13,606.
What does the Census say about the background of Yale?
Among Census respondents with the surname Yale, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Yale in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (1,915 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Yale appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.8%), Hispanic (3.8%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Yale (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 Yale mean?
A habitational surname referring to someone who lived near a fertile upland region or hillside. 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 Yale (0.71 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 last name Yale?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Yale on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.