2010
#114,424
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 153
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Balamurugan
A Hindu surname indicating devotion to the god Murugan or Kartikeya.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 540 Americans carry the last name Balamurugan. That puts it at #48,441 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.16 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 634,730 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Balamurugan 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.
Bearers in the US
540
1 in 634,730
Census rank
#48,441
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
471
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 471 bearers of the surname Balamurugan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.16 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 48441st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Balamurugan, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.8%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (1.5%) and Two or More Races (1.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Balamurugan
The surname BALAMURUGAN has its origins in the Tamil language, spoken predominantly in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the neighboring regions. It is a compound name derived from the combination of two Tamil words: "Bala" meaning "strength" or "power," and "Murugan," which is the Tamil name for the Hindu deity Lord Murugan, the son of Lord Shiva and Parvati.
The earliest known references to the name can be traced back to the medieval period in Tamil Nadu, where it was commonly used by members of the Shaivite community, who were devotees of Lord Shiva and his son, Murugan. It was also prevalent among the Tamil warrior clans and chieftains, who sought the blessings and protection of Lord Murugan, revered as the god of war and victory.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name BALAMURUGAN can be found in the Tanjore inscriptions from the 9th century CE, which document the existence of a powerful feudal lord named Balamurugan Chola, who ruled over a region in the heart of the Chola kingdom.
During the reign of the Vijayanagar Empire in the 14th to 16th centuries, the name BALAMURUGAN gained further prominence, with several notable individuals bearing this surname. One such figure was Balamurugan Nayak, a renowned military commander who served under the Vijayanagar rulers and played a crucial role in the empire's expansionist campaigns.
In the later centuries, the name BALAMURUGAN was also adopted by members of the Tamil Brahmin community, who held esteemed positions as scholars, administrators, and advisors to the ruling dynasties of southern India. One notable example is Balamurugan Iyer, a celebrated Tamil poet and philosopher who lived in the 17th century and authored several works on Hindu philosophy and literature.
Another prominent figure bearing the surname BALAMURUGAN was Balamurugan Pillai, a revered Tamil scholar and grammarian from the 18th century. His seminal work, "Nannul Virutti," is considered a masterpiece in the study of Tamil grammar and is widely referenced by scholars and linguists to this day.
In more recent times, the name BALAMURUGAN has been carried forward by individuals from various walks of life, including artists, musicians, and academics. One such individual was Balamurugan Ramanujam, a renowned Tamil playwright and screenwriter who made significant contributions to the Tamil literary and theatrical landscape in the 20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Balamurugan
Among Census respondents with the surname Balamurugan, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.8%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (1.5%) and Two or More Races (1.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Balamurugan 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 Balamurugan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.8% · 456
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 7
- Two or more races1.3% · 6
- White0.4% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Balamurugan
Balamurugan appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#48,441
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 471
+318 bearers (+207.8%)
Per 100,000 0.16
Rank movement Up 65,983 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #114,424 | 153 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #48,441 | 471 | 0.16 | +318 bearers (+207.8%) | Up 65,983 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 Balamurugan 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 | #114,424 | #48,441 | 57.7% |
| Count | 153 | 471 | 207.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.16 | 215.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Balamurugan bearers went from 153 to 471 (+207.8% change). The surname moved up 65,983 positions in the national ranking, going from #114,424 to #48,441.
FAQ
Balamurugan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Balamurugan?
Name Census estimates that about 540 living Americans carry the surname Balamurugan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 634,730 residents.
How common is Balamurugan?
Balamurugan ranks #48,441 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.16 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 471 people with the surname Balamurugan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (540), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.16 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.16 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Balamurugan.
Has Balamurugan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Balamurugan went from 153 recorded bearers to 471. That is an increase of 318 (+207.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #114,424 to #48,441.
What does the Census say about the background of Balamurugan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Balamurugan, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.8%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (1.5%) and Two or More Races (1.3%). 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 Balamurugan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.8% (456 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Balamurugan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (96.8%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.5%), Two or More Races (1.3%). 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 Balamurugan (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 Balamurugan mean?
A Hindu surname indicating devotion to the god Murugan or Kartikeya. 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 Balamurugan (0.16 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 are called Balamurugan?
Want to know how common the surname Balamurugan is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.