Find out how popular the last name Balasa is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Balasa.
A surname of Albanian or Romanian origin, possibly referring to someone from the Balasa region.
Balasa, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Balasa surname is from the 2010 census data.
Balasa is the 69996th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Balasa surname appeared 280 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Balasa.
We can also compare 2010 data for Balasa to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.
| 2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 69996 | 74957 | -6.84% |
| Count | 280 | 240 | 15.38% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.09 | 0.09 | 0.00% |
The surname Balasa is believed to have originated in Romania, with its roots dating back to the 15th century. The name is derived from the Romanian word "balas," which means ruby or a reddish-brown gemstone. This suggests that the name may have initially been associated with someone who worked with precious stones or perhaps had a distinct reddish complexion.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Balasa surname can be found in a 16th-century manuscript detailing the noble families of Transylvania, a historical region in present-day Romania. The Balasa family is mentioned as being part of the landed gentry, holding estates in the region.
In the late 16th century, a prominent figure named Gheorghe Balasa (1540-1612) gained recognition as a leader in the anti-Ottoman resistance movements in Wallachia and Moldavia, two principalities located in modern-day Romania and Moldova. His bravery and military exploits earned him the epithet "the Brave" and his name is celebrated in Romanian folklore and literature.
Another notable individual bearing the Balasa surname was Petru Balasa (1648-1704), a Romanian scholar and diplomat who served as the envoy of the Prince of Wallachia to the Ottoman court in Constantinople (present-day Istanbul). His diplomatic skills and knowledge of multiple languages, including Turkish and Greek, made him an influential figure in his time.
In the 19th century, a Romanian writer and journalist named Vasile Balasa (1824-1876) gained recognition for his contributions to the development of the Romanian language and literature. He was a member of the Junimea literary society and played a crucial role in promoting the use of the Romanian language in education and public discourse.
A more contemporary figure with the Balasa surname is Andrei Balasa (1924-2016), a Romanian-born American mathematician and computer scientist. He made significant contributions to the fields of artificial intelligence and combinatorics, holding positions at prestigious institutions such as the University of California, Berkeley, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
While the Balasa surname is predominantly found in Romania and among Romanian diaspora communities, it has also spread to other parts of the world through migration and intermarriage. However, its origins can be traced back to the historical regions of Romania, where it carries a rich cultural and linguistic heritage.
We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Balasa.
The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:
For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Balasa was:
| Race/Ethnicity | Percentage | Total Occurrences |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Hispanic White Only | 82.86% | 232 |
| Non-Hispanic Black Only | (S)% | (S) |
| Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only | 11.79% | 33 |
| Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.00% | 0 |
| Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races | (S)% | (S) |
| Hispanic Origin | 3.93% | 11 |
Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.
Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Balasa has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.
| 2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 82.86% | 88.33% | -6.39% |
| Black | (S)% | 0.00% | (S)% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 11.79% | 6.67% | 55.47% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Two or More Races | (S)% | 2.92% | (S)% |
| Hispanic | 3.93% | 2.08% | 61.56% |
The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.
The history and meaning of the name Balasa was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.
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