NameCensus.

UK surname

Hall

An English occupational surname referring to someone who worked or lived in a large house or hall.

In the 1881 census there were 88,053 people recorded with the Hall surname, ranking it #19 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 115,031, ranked #21, down from #19 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Lanchester (Collierley, Kyo, Billingside, Medomsley, Ebchchester, Benfieldside, Heelyfield, Conside, London parishes and Gateshead. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Northumberland, High Peak and County Durham.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Hall is 121,503 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 30.6%.

1881 census count

88,053

Ranked #19

Modern count

115,031

2016, ranked #21

Peak year

1999

121,503 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Hall had 88,053 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #19 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 115,031 in 2016, ranked #21.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 115,189 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Hall surname distribution map

The map shows where the Hall surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Hall surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

Back to top

Hall over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 59,491 #18
1861 historical 63,239 #19
1881 historical 88,053 #19
1891 historical 97,079 #18
1901 historical 110,596 #17
1911 historical 115,189 #17
1997 modern 116,524 #19
1998 modern 120,613 #19
1999 modern 121,503 #19
2000 modern 120,844 #19
2001 modern 117,424 #19
2002 modern 119,798 #19
2003 modern 116,625 #19
2004 modern 116,231 #20
2005 modern 114,123 #19
2006 modern 113,716 #19
2007 modern 114,265 #20
2008 modern 114,953 #19
2009 modern 117,585 #20
2010 modern 119,625 #21
2011 modern 117,920 #20
2012 modern 115,162 #20
2013 modern 116,977 #21
2014 modern 117,417 #21
2015 modern 115,832 #21
2016 modern 115,031 #21

Geography

Back to top

Where Halls are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Lanchester (Collierley, Kyo, Billingside, Medomsley, Ebchchester, Benfieldside, Heelyfield, Conside, London parishes, Gateshead and Manchester. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Northumberland, High Peak, County Durham and Sunderland. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Lanchester (Collierley, Kyo, Billingside, Medomsley, Ebchchester, Benfieldside, Heelyfield, Conside Durham
2 London parishes London 1
3 London parishes London 3
4 Gateshead Durham
5 Manchester Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Northumberland 003 Northumberland
2 High Peak 013 High Peak
3 County Durham 008 County Durham
4 Sunderland 034 Sunderland
5 Northumberland 006 Northumberland

Forenames

Back to top

First names often paired with Hall

These lists show first names that appear often with the Hall surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

Back to top

Neighbourhood profile for Hall

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Hall, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Hall surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Hall household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Hall is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Hall is most concentrated in decile 8 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

8
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Hall falls in decile 6 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

6
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Hall is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Hall, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Hall

The surname Hall has its origins in England, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old English word "hall," which referred to a large dwelling or manor house, often the residence of a wealthy landowner or nobleman.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Hall can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of landowners and property holdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. This suggests that the name was already in use by the late 11th century.

The Hall surname is closely associated with various place names across England, particularly in areas where large manorial halls were located. For example, the town of Hallaton in Leicestershire is believed to be named after a prominent hall or manor that existed there.

In the 13th century, records show a Robert de la Halle, a landowner from Lincolnshire, whose name reflects the French spelling variation common during the Norman influence in England. Other early spellings include Halle, Haull, and Haulle.

Notable historical figures bearing the Hall surname include Edmund Hall (1515-1566), an English Catholic priest and martyr executed during the Protestant Reformation, and Joseph Hall (1574-1656), an English bishop and satirist known for his works on meditations and contemplations.

Sir Benjamin Hall (1802-1868) was a British politician and industrialist who served as the first Baron Llanover. He played a significant role in the development of the coal and iron industries in South Wales.

Charles Martin Hall (1863-1914), an American inventor and chemist, is credited with developing an inexpensive method for producing aluminum, which revolutionized the metal industry in the late 19th century.

Radclyffe Hall (1880-1943), born Marguerite Radclyffe-Hall, was a British novelist and poet best known for her semi-autobiographical novel "The Well of Loneliness," which dealt with the theme of lesbian love and faced censorship upon its publication.

These examples illustrate the widespread use and historical significance of the Hall surname, which has its roots in the medieval English landscape and has been borne by notable figures across various fields throughout the centuries.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

Back to top

Hall families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Hall surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Lancashire leads with 11,757 Halls recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.15x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 11,757 1.15x
Yorkshire 10,865 1.28x
Middlesex 7,847 0.91x
Durham 6,537 2.56x
Staffordshire 4,273 1.47x
Surrey 4,078 0.97x
Northumberland 3,670 2.87x
Warwickshire 2,640 1.22x
Derbyshire 2,597 1.93x
Kent 2,190 0.75x
Cheshire 2,110 1.11x
Hampshire 1,896 1.08x
Lincolnshire 1,879 1.37x
Gloucestershire 1,833 1.09x
Norfolk 1,793 1.36x
Worcestershire 1,570 1.40x
Nottinghamshire 1,512 1.31x
Leicestershire 1,287 1.35x
Sussex 1,281 0.88x
Essex 994 0.59x
Lanarkshire 939 0.34x
Shropshire 840 1.13x
Oxfordshire 750 1.41x
Somerset 737 0.53x
Devon 667 0.37x
Cambridgeshire 651 1.20x
Midlothian 647 0.56x
Berkshire 581 0.90x
Northamptonshire 571 0.71x
Cumberland 564 0.76x
Cornwall 559 0.57x
Suffolk 546 0.52x
Wiltshire 501 0.66x
Herefordshire 498 1.41x
Hertfordshire 495 0.84x
Aberdeenshire 481 0.60x
Glamorgan 397 0.27x
Huntingdonshire 377 2.21x
Buckinghamshire 374 0.72x
Monmouthshire 345 0.56x
Bedfordshire 336 0.76x
Roxburghshire 321 2.06x
Dorset 308 0.55x
Renfrewshire 287 0.43x
Westmorland 279 1.48x
Ayrshire 261 0.41x
Angus 196 0.25x
Selkirkshire 166 2.13x
Clackmannanshire 156 2.20x
Pembrokeshire 132 0.48x
Perthshire 122 0.32x
Stirlingshire 102 0.32x
Channel Islands 100 0.39x
Dumfriesshire 99 0.52x
Fife 79 0.16x
Denbighshire 77 0.24x
Flintshire 76 0.33x
Dunbartonshire 68 0.29x
East Lothian 61 0.54x
Royal Navy 60 0.59x
Carmarthenshire 59 0.16x
Berwickshire 58 0.56x
Brecknockshire 58 0.34x
Argyllshire 47 0.20x
Isle of Man 46 0.29x
Ross-shire 39 0.17x
Wigtownshire 35 0.31x
Peeblesshire 33 0.82x
Shetland 32 0.36x
West Lothian 30 0.23x
Kincardineshire 28 0.27x
Montgomeryshire 27 0.14x
Banffshire 26 0.15x
Buteshire 26 0.50x
Caernarfonshire 26 0.07x
Anglesey 22 0.14x
Cardiganshire 20 0.10x
Radnorshire 19 0.27x
Kirkcudbrightshire 16 0.13x
Inverness-shire 14 0.05x
Merionethshire 11 0.07x
Caithness 5 0.04x
Rutland 5 0.08x
Kinross-shire 2 0.09x
Morayshire 2 0.02x
Sutherland 2 0.03x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Islington London in Middlesex leads with 815 Halls recorded in 1881 and an index of 0.98x.

Place Total Index
Islington London 815 0.98x
Lambeth 806 1.08x
Birmingham 767 1.06x
Aston 727 1.22x
Oldham 594 1.80x
Manchester 575 1.25x
Leeds 556 1.16x
St Pancras London 547 0.79x
Stoke Upon Trent 537 1.75x
Bethnal Green London 514 1.38x
Camberwell 498 0.91x
Salford 497 1.66x
Preston 493 1.81x
Bishopwearmouth 492 2.24x
Gateshead 474 2.48x
Kensington London 442 0.93x
Hackney London 441 0.92x
Ashton Under Lyne 409 1.84x
Bury 406 3.49x
Battersea 390 1.23x
St Marylebone London 372 0.81x
Sheffield 356 1.31x
West Ham 340 0.91x
Shoreditch London 336 0.90x
Westoe 326 2.25x
Nottingham St Mary 324 1.08x
Brighton 321 1.10x
Bermondsey 318 1.24x
Liverpool 316 0.51x
Newington 316 1.00x
St George Hanover Square 312 2.06x
Holy Trinity 306 1.49x
West Bromwich 300 1.81x
Ecclesall Bierlow 280 1.62x
Hedworth Monkton Jarrow 275 2.48x
Brightside Bierlow 274 1.64x
Portsea 272 0.79x
Barony 268 0.38x
Blackburn 255 0.94x
Saddleworth 254 3.87x
Leicester St Margaret 249 1.07x
Mile End Old Town London 246 1.34x
Macclesfield 244 2.89x
West Derby 244 0.82x
Govan 242 0.35x
Newcastle On Tyne All Sts 241 3.16x
Paddington London 239 0.76x
Wolverhampton 234 1.05x
Hulme 232 1.09x
Everton 225 0.69x
Folkestone 223 3.92x
Glossop Dale 221 3.51x
Westgate 221 2.79x
Nether Hallam 215 1.87x
Bradford 214 1.04x
Toxteth Park 214 0.62x
Darlington 206 2.09x
Hammersmith London 206 0.97x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 204 0.44x
Dukinfield 202 2.30x
Sculcoates 202 1.50x
Bedminster 199 1.53x
Stockton On Tees 193 1.57x
Southwark St George Martyr 192 1.11x
Chelsea London 191 0.74x
Batley 190 2.35x
Chorlton On Medlock 190 1.17x
Little Bolton 189 1.44x
Byker 187 2.96x
Deptford St Paul 187 0.83x
Glasgow 187 0.38x
Croydon 181 0.78x
Tynemouth 181 2.64x
Bromley London 177 0.94x
Wigan 177 1.24x
Belper 172 6.59x
Elswick 171 1.68x
Chadderton 169 3.39x
Pendleton In Salford 169 1.39x
Stranton 168 1.95x
Great Bolton 166 1.23x
Longbenton 164 3.03x
St Luke London 162 1.18x
Dudley 159 1.17x
Walsall Foreign 157 1.05x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 152 0.96x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Hall surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 5,896
Elizabeth 3,587
Sarah 3,153
Jane 1,827
Ann 1,778
Annie 1,229
Alice 1,228
Eliza 1,224
Margaret 1,152
Ellen 1,141
Emma 1,113
Hannah 1,104
Emily 845
Martha 774
Harriet 544
Isabella 485
Edith 482
Charlotte 469
Louisa 469
Ada 459
Maria 446
Florence 444
Fanny 422
Caroline 411
Catherine 372
Frances 371
Clara 340
Agnes 325
Lucy 308
Harriett 299
Kate 293
Anne 290
Esther 227
Susan 226
Amelia 222
Rose 202
Eleanor 174
Amy 173
Rebecca 171
Susannah 169
Matilda 167
Elizth. 153
Sophia 151
Jessie 147
Minnie 146
Gertrude 139
Ruth 138
Julia 136
Lydia 130
Ethel 129

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Hall surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
William 5,149
John 5,119
Thomas 3,076
George 2,941
James 2,632
Henry 1,786
Joseph 1,685
Charles 1,452
Robert 1,378
Edward 940
Alfred 807
Richard 721
Arthur 710
Samuel 700
Frederick 667
Albert 551
Walter 490
Harry 471
Herbert 343
Frank 341
Edwin 295
Ernest 291
Wm. 287
David 278
Benjamin 253
Isaac 182
Francis 181
Fred 157
Thos. 157
Matthew 155
Ralph 121
Stephen 121
Peter 120
Daniel 114
Geo. 99
Tom 98
Edmund 97
Fredrick 96
Andrew 95
Christopher 83
Alexander 78
Michael 78
Joshua 75
Jonathan 74
Percy 69
Mark 68
Fredk. 66
Anthony 63
Jno. 57
Sidney 57

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Hall households.

FAQ

Hall surname: questions and answers

How common was the Hall surname in 1881?

In 1881, 88,053 people were recorded with the Hall surname. That placed it at #19 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Hall surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 115,031 in 2016. That gives Hall a modern rank of #21.

What does the Hall surname mean?

An English occupational surname referring to someone who worked or lived in a large house or hall.

What does the Hall map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Hall bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.