# Hale (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/hale/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A topographic surname from Old English.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 86,618 |
| US rank (2010) | 362 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 3,564 people |
| Change since 2000 | +4.4% (82,955 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /heɪl/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

* As an English surname, Old English dative form of halh (“hollow, nook”). * Also as an English surname, from Old English hæle (“hero”). Compare Hain. * As an Irish surname, from mac céile; see McHale. * As a Jewish surname, variant of Halle.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Hale in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 82% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 11% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.4% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.2% |
| Two or more races | 2.2% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Hale in the United States, Ireland and the United Kingdom.

## People named Hale

- Lucy Hale, American actress and singer (born 1989)
- George Ellery Hale, American astronomer (1868-1938)
- Tony Hale, American actor
- Barbara Hale, American actress (1922–2017)
- Edward Everett Hale, American author, historian and Unitarian minister (1822-1909)
- Georgia Hale, American silent film actress (1905–1985)
- Alan Hale, Jr., American actor (1921–1990)
- Alan Hale, actor, film director (1892-1950)
- Creighton Hale, American actor (1882–1965)
- Ellen Day Hale, American Impressionist painter (1855-1940)
- Kenneth L. Hale, American linguist
- Jean Hale, American actress (1938–2021)

and 26 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Hall, Hail, Haley, Hawley, Healey, Hailey, Haile, Halley, Hile, Heal, Hole, Halle.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.