Explore the Family Name Galles

The meaning of Galles

1. Germanized form of French Gallois, which was taken to Germany by Huguenot refugees who settled east of the Rhine. 2. Catalan (Gallès): ethnic name from gallès ‘Gallic’, from Late Latin gallense.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Galles in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Galles has seen a significant increase from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it was ranked 24,701 in terms of commonality, but by 2010, its rank had improved to 19,865, marking an increase in popularity by 19.58%. The count of people with this surname also saw a substantial rise of 42.87% during this period, increasing from 947 individuals in 2000 to 1,353 in 2010. Consequently, the proportion of people with the Galles surname per 100,000 also enhanced, registering a growth of 31.43%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#24,701	#19,865	19.58%
Count	947	1,353	42.87%
Proportion per 100k	0.35	0.46	31.43%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Galles

When examining the ethnicity associated with the Galles surname, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals certain shifts between 2000 and 2010. The percentage identifying as White decreased from 86.17% to 81.15%, indicating a slight decrease in this ethnic identity over this ten-year span. Interestingly, those identifying as Hispanic and Black saw increases of 38.70% and 54.32%, respectively, suggesting a growing diversity among individuals with this last name. However, the composition of those identifying with two or more races slightly declined, and there were no recorded individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either census year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	86.17%	81.15%	-5.83%
Hispanic	6.02%	8.35%	38.7%
Black	3.59%	5.54%	54.32%
Two or More Races	2.64%	2.51%	-4.92%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%