Find out how popular the last name Ballantyne is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Ballantyne.

Ballantyne, 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 Ballantyne surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ballantyne in America

Ballantyne is the 12795th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ballantyne surname appeared 2,410 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Ballantyne.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ballantyne 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.

The history of the last name Ballantyne

The surname Ballantyne is of Scottish origin, derived from the lands of Ballantyne in the parish of Livingstone, West Lothian. It is believed to have originated from the Gaelic words "baile" meaning "town" and "tan" meaning "territory" or "land". The earliest recorded spelling of the name was in the mid-12th century as "de Ballendan".

The Ballantyne name is closely associated with the Scottish Borders region, and it is believed that the family held lands there as early as the 13th century. In 1296, a Robert de Ballendyn is recorded as swearing fealty to King Edward I of England during the Wars of Scottish Independence.

One of the earliest known references to the Ballantyne name is in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which recorded those who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England. The name appears as "Ballendyn" and "Ballandyn" in these rolls.

In the 16th century, the Ballantynes were prominent landowners in the Scottish Borders, particularly in the areas around Peebles and Traquair. John Ballantyne, born around 1510, was a notable figure during this time, serving as a Bailie of Peebles.

Another notable figure was Robert Ballantyne, born in 1825, who was a renowned Scottish writer and author of adventure stories for children. He is best known for his books "The Coral Island" and "The Gorilla Hunters".

James Ballantyne, born in 1772 and died in 1833, was a Scottish printer and publisher who worked closely with the famous writer Sir Walter Scott. He was a co-founder of the publishing house Ballantyne & Company, which printed many of Scott's works.

Serena Ballantyne, born in 1953, is a contemporary Canadian artist known for her large-scale outdoor sculptures and installations. She has been recognized with numerous awards and commissions throughout her career.

John Ballantyne, born in 1778 and died in 1830, was a Scottish lawyer and writer who served as the Principal Clerk of the Court of Teinds in Scotland. He was also a close friend and confidant of Sir Walter Scott.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ballantyne

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Ballantyne.

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:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Ballantyne was:

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 Ballantyne has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

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 Ballantyne was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Ballantyne, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!