Explore the Family Name Kvale

The meaning of Kvale

Norwegian (also Kvåle): habitational name from any of numerous farmsteads named Kvale or Kvåle, from the dative singular of Old Norse hváll ‘knoll’. Compare Quale and Quall. Some characteristic forenames: Scandinavian Erik, Knut, Lars, Oddvar, Selmer.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Kvale has seen a notable increase. In 2000, Kvale was ranked 59,611 in popularity and this improved to 54,864 by 2010, representing a growth of approximately 7.96%. The count or number of people with the Kvale surname also rose from 317 in 2000 to 375 in 2010, indicating an 18.3% increase. This surge is further highlighted by an increase in the proportion of individuals with this surname per 100,000 population from 0.12 to 0.13 over the same period.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#59,611	#54,864	7.96%
Count	317	375	18.3%
Proportion per 100k	0.12	0.13	8.33%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Kvale

In terms of ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals that the largest ethnic identity associated with the Kvale surname is White, although there has been a slight decrease from 96.21% in 2000 to 94.67% in 2010. The Hispanic representation within this surname group experienced an increase of 34.81%, though it remains a small percentage at 2.13% in 2010. Notably, the 2010 census recorded some Kvale bearers identifying with two or more races, which wasn't the case in 2000. However, no Kvale bearers identified as Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, American Indian, or Alaskan Native in either census year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	96.21%	94.67%	-1.6%
Two or More Races	0%	2.4%	0%
Hispanic	1.58%	2.13%	34.81%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%