2000
#13,311
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.78
Rare Last name
Balfour
A Scottish locational surname derived from a place name meaning "village pasture" in Gaelic.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,521 Americans carry the last name Balfour. That puts it at #13,289 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.74 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 135,960 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Balfour 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 Balfour with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.5K
1 in 135,960
Census rank
#13,289
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,198 bearers of the surname Balfour in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.74 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13289th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Balfour, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.6%. The next largest groups are Black (27.7%) and Hispanic (5.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Balfour
The surname Balfour is of Scottish origin, derived from the lands of Balfour in the parish of Markinch, Fife. The name is believed to have originated from the Gaelic words 'Bal', meaning a village or town, and 'pur', meaning land or soil, thus translating to "farm town".
The earliest recorded instance of the Balfour name dates back to the 12th century, when David de Balfour was mentioned in a charter from King William the Lion of Scotland in 1195. The name is also found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which recorded those who swore fealty to King Edward I of England.
In the 14th century, Sir John Balfour was a prominent figure who served as the Clerk Register of Scotland under King David II. He was responsible for the preservation of many important Scottish records and charters during his tenure.
The Balfours of Burleigh, near Kinross, were a notable Scottish family that played a significant role in Scottish history. In the 16th century, Sir James Balfour (1525-1583) was a Scottish judge and Lord President of the Court of Session.
Another notable figure was Robert Balfour (1550-1625), a Scottish philosopher and mathematician who was a professor at the University of Guienne in France. He made important contributions to the development of calculus and mathematical notation.
In the 17th century, Sir William Balfour (1619-1694) was a Scottish politician and writer who served as a member of the Scottish Parliament and was a staunch supporter of the Covenanters during the religious conflicts of the time.
Arthur Balfour (1848-1930) was a prominent British statesman and philosopher who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. He is remembered for his role in the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which supported the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine.
The surname Balfour has also been associated with various place names, such as Balfour Castle in Fife, Balfour Manor in Oxfordshire, and Balfour in British Columbia, Canada.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Balfour
Among Census respondents with the surname Balfour, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.6%. The next largest groups are Black (27.7%) and Hispanic (5.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Balfour 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 Balfour surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.6% · 1,333
- Black or African American27.7% · 608
- Hispanic or Latino5.6% · 123
- Two or more races5.0% · 109
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Balfour
Balfour 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
#13,435
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,268
+168 bearers (+8.0%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Down 124 places
2020
#13,289
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,198
-70 bearers (-3.1%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Up 146 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,311 | 2,100 | 0.78 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,435 | 2,268 | 0.77 | +168 bearers (+8.0%) | Down 124 places |
| 2020 | #13,289 | 2,198 | 0.74 | -70 bearers (-3.1%) | Up 146 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 Balfour 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 | #13,435 | #13,289 | 1.1% |
| Count | 2,268 | 2,198 | -3.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.77 | 0.74 | -4.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Balfour bearers went from 2,268 to 2,198 (-3.1% change). The surname moved up 146 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,435 to #13,289.
FAQ
Balfour surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Balfour?
Name Census estimates that about 2,521 living Americans carry the surname Balfour. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 135,960 residents.
How common is Balfour?
Balfour ranks #13,289 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.74 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 2,198 people with the surname Balfour. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,521), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.74 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.74 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 Balfour.
Has Balfour become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Balfour went from 2,268 recorded bearers to 2,198. That is a decrease of 70 (-3.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,435 to #13,289.
What does the Census say about the background of Balfour?
Among Census respondents with the surname Balfour, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.6%. The next largest groups are Black (27.7%) and Hispanic (5.6%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Balfour in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.6% (1,333 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Balfour appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (60.6%), Black (27.7%), Hispanic (5.6%). 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 Balfour (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 Balfour mean?
A Scottish locational surname derived from a place name meaning "village pasture" in Gaelic. 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 Balfour (0.74 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 Balfour?
Find out how many people have the last name Balfour on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.