How common is the surname Scales?

13,190 people in the United States had the surname Scales in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 23,408 Americans. It ranked 2,732nd of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Scales?

Prunella Scales, British actress (1932–2025), followed by Alex Scales.

Where is the surname Scales most common?

Wikidata records people named Scales in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Is the surname Scales getting more or less common?

More common. 12,542 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 13,190 in 2010, up 5.2%.

The surname Scales

A surname, carried by 13,190 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex S420

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Scales is more common than 98.3% of them.

Origin

From Old Norse skáli (“shed, hut”). Doublet of Scholes.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 13,190 people named Scales in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 23,408 Americans. That is up 5.2% since 2000, when the Census counted 12,542.

#2,732

rank among US surnames

13,190

people in 2010

4.5

per 100,000 Americans

+5.2%

change since 2000 (was #2,649)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,723	Herrmann	13,226	23,344
#2,724	Yoo	13,225	23,346
#2,725	Vitale	13,220	23,354
#2,726	Loera	13,218	23,358
#2,727	Parson	13,209	23,374
#2,728	Marlow	13,205	23,381
#2,729	Jeter	13,198	23,393

Who is named Scales

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

55% of people named Scales identified as Black (not Hispanic), 38% as white (not Hispanic) and 3.6% as two or more races.

Black (not Hispanic) 55%
White (not Hispanic) 38%
Two or more races 3.6%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.1%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.4%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.3%

Compare: most common surnames among Black Americans.

Famous Scaless

2 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Prunella Scales
British actress (1932–2025)
Alex Scales
American basketball player (born 1978)

Notable Scaless come mostly from the United Kingdom (1) and the United States (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Scales

Scales has the Soundex code S420, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code S420.

Questions

Where does the surname Scales come from?: From Old Norse skáli (“shed, hut”). Doublet of Scholes.
How common is the surname Scales?: 13,190 people in the United States had the surname Scales in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 23,408 Americans. It ranked 2,732nd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Scales?: In the 2010 Census, 55% of people named Scales identified as Black (not Hispanic), and 38% as white (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Scales?: Prunella Scales, British actress (1932–2025), followed by Alex Scales.
Where is the surname Scales most common?: Wikidata records people named Scales in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Is the surname Scales getting more or less common?: More common. 12,542 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 13,190 in 2010, up 5.2%.