Explore the Family Name Whale
The meaning of Whale
English: 1. nickname from Middle English whal, hwal, wale ‘whale’ (Old English hwæl), a term that was used to denote any large fish or marine mammal, including the walrus, grampus, and porpoise. The nickname may refer to a rolling gait or to size and weight. 2. variant of Wale or Wall. 3. habitational name from Whale in Lowther (Cumbria). The placename is from Old Norse hváll, meaning ‘isolated hill’.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Whale in the United States?
Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Whale has seen a slight decrease in popularity from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it ranked 63,297th most popular and fell to 66,553rd by 2010, representing a 5.14% decrease. However, the number of people with this surname remained relatively stable, with a slight increase from 295 to 297 individuals, or a 0.68% growth. The proportion of people with the surname Whale per 100,000 also reduced slightly from 0.11 to 0.10, marking a 9.09% decrease.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #63,297 | #66,553 | -5.14% |
| Count | 295 | 297 | 0.68% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.11 | 0.1 | -9.09% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Whale
The ethnicity associated with the surname Whale also saw some changes between 2000 and 2010 according to the Decennial U.S. Census. The percentage of those identifying as White decreased marginally from 84.41% to 83.84%. Meanwhile, those identifying as Black increased slightly from 9.15% to 9.76%. The American Indian and Alaskan Native group represented a small portion of the Whale surname, but their representation decreased by 14.77% over the decade. While there were no individuals of Asian/Pacific Islander descent with the Whale surname in 2010, a new ethnic identity emerged - those identifying with two or more races, accounting for 3.37% of the total.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 84.41% | 83.84% | -0.68% |
| Black | 9.15% | 9.76% | 6.67% |
| Two or More Races | 0% | 3.37% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 2.37% | 2.02% | -14.77% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 1.69% | 0% | 0% |
| Hispanic | 0% | 0% | 0% |