Explore the Family Name Hall

The meaning of Hall

1. English, Scottish, Irish, German, Norwegian, and Danish: from Middle English hall (Old English heall), Middle High German halle, Old Norse hǫll all meaning ‘hall’ (a spacious residence), hence a topographic name for someone who lived in or near a hall or an occupational name for a servant employed at a hall. In some cases it may be a habitational name from any of the places called with this word, which in some parts of Germany and Austria in the Middle Ages also denoted a salt mine. Hall is one of the commonest and most widely distributed of English surnames, bearing witness to the importance of the hall as a feature of the medieval village. The English surname has been established in Ireland since the 14th century, and, according to MacLysaght, has become numerous in Ulster since the 17th century. 2. Swedish: ornamental or topographic name from hall ‘hall’ (a spacious residence), or a habitational name from a placename containing the element hall ‘rock’ (from Old Norse hallr). 3. Chinese: variant Romanization of the surnames 何 and 賀, see He 1 and 2. History: John Hall, an Englishman born in Kent in 1584 who emigrated to New England in 1632, founded a notable American family, whose members have included Lyman Hall (1724–90), politician and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence; Asaph Hall (1829–1907), astronomer, who discovered the two satellites of Mars; and Stanley Hall (1844–1924), pioneer in psychophysics. — Another John Hall emigrated to North America c.1652, settling in MA. His descendants include Charles M. Hall (1863–1914), who invented a process for the mass production of aluminum. — David Hall, born in Edinburgh, Scotland, around 1714, came to Philadelphia, PA, in 1743 and was a partner of Benjamin Franklin in the printing business.

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

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

According to the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname "Hall" has experienced a decline between 2000 and 2010. It was ranked as the 30th most popular surname in the United States in 2000 with a count of 473,568 individuals carrying the name. However, by 2010, the surname had dropped in rank to the 45th position, representing a change of -50%. The number of individuals with the "Hall" surname also declined by approximately 14% to 407,076. This change resulted in a decrease in the proportion of individuals with this surname per 100k from 175.55 in 2000 to 138.0 in 2010.

20002010Change
Rank#30#45-50%
Count473,568407,076-14.04%
Proportion per 100k175.55138-21.39%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Hall

The Decennial U.S. Census data also sheds light on the ethnic identity associated with the surname "Hall". In 2000, the majority of those with the surname identified as white (75.11%), followed by black (20.75%). Between 2000 and 2010, there were changes in the distribution across ethnic identities. The percentage of individuals with the surname identifying as white decreased slightly to 72.65%, while the percentage identifying as black increased to 21.59%. Simultaneously, the proportions of Asian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic identity increased significantly by 33.33% and 60.71% respectively. There were also modest increases in those identifying as having two or more races and as American Indian and Alaskan Native.

20002010Change
White75.11%72.65%-3.28%
Black20.75%21.59%4.05%
Hispanic1.4%2.25%60.71%
Two or More Races1.63%2.22%36.2%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.63%0.65%3.17%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.48%0.64%33.33%

Hall ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Hall is British & Irish, which comprises 55.0% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (22.0%) and Scandinavian (3.5%). Additional ancestries include Eastern European, Nigerian, Italian, Spanish & Portuguese, and Ghanaian, Liberian & Sierra Leonean.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
British & Irish55.0%
French & German22.0%
Scandinavian3.5%
Other19.5%
Hall

Possible origins of the surname Hall

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Hall have recent ancestry locations all within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Greater London, United Kingdom87.50%
Glasgow City, United Kingdom87.30%
West Midlands, United Kingdom87.00%
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom86.90%
Merseyside, United Kingdom86.90%

What Hall haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Hall is R-P311, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-P311 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include R-CTS241 and R-L21, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Brown, Smith, Clark, Taylor, Wilson, Davis, Williams, Martin, Thompson, Young.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Hall surname are: H1, T2b, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

hallPaternal Haplogroup Origins R-M343

Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette

Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Hall have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Hall

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Hall" Surname 42.4%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Hall

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Hall" Surname 27.5%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Hall

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Hall" Surname 23.2%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Hall

Cat Allergy

An allergic reaction to cats, characterized by symptoms such as sneezing, itching, and difficulty breathing.

"Hall" Surname 35.0%

23andMe Users 36.7%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Hall?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Hall are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

British & Irish 62.1%

23andMe Users 57.2%