2000
#38,079
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 547
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.20
Rare Last name
Balakrishnan
A Hindu surname signifying a devotee or worshipper of Lord Krishna.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,187 Americans carry the last name Balakrishnan. That puts it at #14,903 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.64 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 156,724 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Balakrishnan surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Balakrishnan with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.2K
1 in 156,724
Census rank
#14,903
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,907 bearers of the surname Balakrishnan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.64 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14903rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Balakrishnan, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and White (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Balakrishnan
The surname Balakrishnan is of Indian origin, specifically from the Tamil Nadu region of South India. It dates back several centuries and has its roots in the ancient Tamil language.
Balakrishnan is a combination of two Tamil words, "Bala" meaning strength or power, and "Krishnan" which is a reference to the Hindu deity Lord Krishna. The name can be roughly translated to mean "the powerful Krishna" or "the strong Krishna."
The earliest recorded instances of the name Balakrishnan can be found in ancient Tamil literature, such as the Sangam poetry, which dates back to the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE. These literary works often mentioned individuals with this surname, indicating its widespread use during that time period.
One notable historical figure with the surname Balakrishnan was Balakrishna Deva Raya, who ruled the Vijayanagara Empire in the 16th century (1509-1529 CE). He was a powerful ruler who expanded the empire's territories and patronized the arts and literature.
Another prominent individual was Sir Balakrishna Venkata Raman, an Indian physicist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930 for his groundbreaking work on the scattering of light and the discovery of the Raman effect. He was born in 1888 and passed away in 1970.
In the 18th century, there was a famous Tamil scholar and grammarian named Balakrishna Mudaliar, who made significant contributions to the study and preservation of the Tamil language and literature.
The name Balakrishnan can also be traced back to various place names in Tamil Nadu, such as Balakrishnapuram, Balakrishnampatti, and Balakrishnannagar, which likely derived their names from individuals or families with the surname Balakrishnan who settled in those areas.
Another notable individual was Balakrishnan Nair, an Indian freedom fighter and social reformer who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He played a prominent role in the Indian independence movement and worked towards the upliftment of the underprivileged communities in Kerala.
While the surname Balakrishnan has its origins in South India, it has since spread to other parts of the country and even to other parts of the world due to migration and diaspora communities. However, its historical roots can be traced back to the ancient Tamil culture and language.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Balakrishnan
Among Census respondents with the surname Balakrishnan, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and White (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Balakrishnan bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Balakrishnan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander94.1% · 1,795
- Two or more races2.7% · 51
- White2.4% · 45
- Hispanic or Latino0.5% · 9
- Black or African American0.3% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Balakrishnan
Balakrishnan appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#21,583
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,209
+662 bearers (+121.0%)
Per 100,000 0.41
Rank movement Up 16,496 places
2020
#14,903
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,907
+698 bearers (+57.7%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Up 6,680 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #38,079 | 547 | 0.20 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #21,583 | 1,209 | 0.41 | +662 bearers (+121.0%) | Up 16,496 places |
| 2020 | #14,903 | 1,907 | 0.64 | +698 bearers (+57.7%) | Up 6,680 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Balakrishnan surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #21,583 | #14,903 | 31.0% |
| Count | 1,209 | 1,907 | 57.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.41 | 0.64 | 55.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Balakrishnan bearers went from 1,209 to 1,907 (+57.7% change). The surname moved up 6,680 positions in the national ranking, going from #21,583 to #14,903.
FAQ
Balakrishnan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Balakrishnan?
Name Census estimates that about 2,187 living Americans carry the surname Balakrishnan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 156,724 residents.
How common is Balakrishnan?
Balakrishnan ranks #14,903 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.64 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,907 people with the surname Balakrishnan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,187), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.64 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.64 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Balakrishnan.
Has Balakrishnan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Balakrishnan went from 1,209 recorded bearers to 1,907. That is an increase of 698 (+57.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #21,583 to #14,903.
What does the Census say about the background of Balakrishnan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Balakrishnan, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and White (2.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Balakrishnan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.1% (1,795 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Balakrishnan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (94.1%), Two or More Races (2.7%), White (2.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Balakrishnan (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Balakrishnan mean?
A Hindu surname signifying a devotee or worshipper of Lord Krishna. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Balakrishnan (0.64 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Balakrishnan?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.