How common is the surname Wales?

5,133 people in the United States had the surname Wales in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 60,149 Americans. It ranked 6,602nd of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Wales?

Ethel Wales, actress (1878-1952), followed by Lachlan Wales.

Where is the surname Wales most common?

Wikidata records people named Wales in the United States and Australia.

How do you pronounce Wales?

Wales is /weɪlz/, one syllable.

Is the surname Wales getting more or less common?

More common. 4,983 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 5,133 in 2010, up 3.0%.

The surname Wales

A surname, carried by 5,133 people in the United States.

Pronounced /weɪlz/ 1 syllable Soundex W420

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Wales is more common than 95.9% of them.

Origin

From Middle English Wales, from Old English Wēalas, plural of wealh (“Celt, Welsh person”), from Proto-West Germanic *walh, from Proto-Germanic *walhaz (“Celt, Roman”). Compare the second element in Cornwall, and also Gaul.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 5,133 people named Wales in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 60,149 Americans. That is up 3.0% since 2000, when the Census counted 4,983.

#6,602

rank among US surnames

5,133

people in 2010

1.7

per 100,000 Americans

+3%

change since 2000 (was #6,295)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#6,594	Peake	5,137	60,102
#6,595	Capone	5,135	60,126
#6,598	Delp	5,134	60,137
#6,602	Wales	5,133	60,149
#6,603	Kain	5,132	60,161
#6,604	Persinger	5,131	60,173

Who is named Wales

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

88% of people named Wales identified as white (not Hispanic), 6.1% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 88%
Black (not Hispanic) 6.1%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.3%
Two or more races 1.9%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Waless

5 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Ethel Wales
Actress (1878-1952)
Lachlan Wales
Australian association football player, born 1997
Ross Wales
American swimmer, Olympic bronze medalist, born 1947
Howard Wales
American keyboardist (1943–2020)
John Wales
American politician (1783-1863)

Notable Waless come mostly from the United States (4) and Australia (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Wales

Wales has the Soundex code W420, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code W420.

Questions

Where does the surname Wales come from?: From Middle English Wales, from Old English Wēalas, plural of wealh (“Celt, Welsh person”), from Proto-West Germanic *walh, from Proto-Germanic *walhaz (“Celt, Roman”). Compare the second element in Cornwall, and also Gaul.
How common is the surname Wales?: 5,133 people in the United States had the surname Wales in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 60,149 Americans. It ranked 6,602nd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Wales?: In the 2010 Census, 88% of people named Wales identified as white (not Hispanic), and 6.1% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Wales?: Ethel Wales, actress (1878-1952), followed by Lachlan Wales.
Where is the surname Wales most common?: Wikidata records people named Wales in the United States and Australia.
How do you pronounce Wales?: Wales is /weɪlz/, one syllable.
Is the surname Wales getting more or less common?: More common. 4,983 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 5,133 in 2010, up 3.0%.