2000
#7,941
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,864
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.43
Rare Last name
Ballentine
A Scottish and Irish surname derived from a place name meaning "settlement by a stream."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,976 Americans carry the last name Ballentine. That puts it at #9,045 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.16 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 86,206 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ballentine 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 Ballentine with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.0K
1 in 86,206
Census rank
#9,045
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,467 bearers of the surname Ballentine in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.16 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9045th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ballentine, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.2%. The next largest groups are Black (22.6%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ballentine
The surname Ballentine originated in Scotland, where it first appeared in the 13th century. It is derived from the Gaelic words "baile" meaning "town" and "teine" meaning "fire," suggesting that the name may have referred to someone who lived in a town where beacon fires were lit.
In the 14th century, the name was recorded as "Ballenteyne" in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland. This early spelling indicates that the name likely evolved from a place name associated with a specific town or village.
One of the earliest known records of the name Ballentine is found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which documented individuals who swore fealty to King Edward I of England during his conquest of Scotland. The name "John de Ballyntyne" appears in this historical document.
During the 16th century, the Ballentine surname began to spread throughout Scotland, particularly in the regions of Lanarkshire and Ayrshire. In 1538, a record shows a "William Ballentyne" who was a burgess (a respected citizen) in the town of Irvine, Ayrshire.
Notable individuals with the surname Ballentine include:
1. George Ballentine (1776-1853), a Scottish merchant and philanthropist who co-founded the Glasgow Asylum for the Blind.
2. Robert Ballentine (1825-1899), a Scottish-born engineer and architect who designed many buildings in Sydney, Australia, including the Sydney Mint.
3. Frances Ballentine (1867-1942), a Scottish-American author and journalist known for her works on Scottish history and culture.
4. James Ballentine (1892-1965), an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Illinois from 1937 to 1947.
5. Marianne Ballentine (1948-present), an American politician and member of the South Carolina House of Representatives since 2005.
Throughout its history, the Ballentine surname has been spelled in various ways, such as Ballantyne, Ballenden, and Ballentine, reflecting regional variations and evolving spellings over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ballentine
Among Census respondents with the surname Ballentine, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.2%. The next largest groups are Black (22.6%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Ballentine 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 Ballentine surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.2% · 2,434
- Black or African American22.6% · 784
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 106
- Two or more races2.9% · 99
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 21
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ballentine
Ballentine 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
#7,739
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,289
+425 bearers (+11.0%)
Per 100,000 1.45
Rank movement Up 202 places
2020
#9,045
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,467
-822 bearers (-19.2%)
Per 100,000 1.16
Rank movement Down 1,306 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,941 | 3,864 | 1.43 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,739 | 4,289 | 1.45 | +425 bearers (+11.0%) | Up 202 places |
| 2020 | #9,045 | 3,467 | 1.16 | -822 bearers (-19.2%) | Down 1,306 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 Ballentine 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 | #7,739 | #9,045 | -16.9% |
| Count | 4,289 | 3,467 | -19.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.45 | 1.16 | -20.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ballentine bearers went from 4,289 to 3,467 (-19.2% change). The surname moved down 1,306 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,739 to #9,045.
FAQ
Ballentine surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ballentine?
Name Census estimates that about 3,976 living Americans carry the surname Ballentine. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 86,206 residents.
How common is Ballentine?
Ballentine ranks #9,045 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.16 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 3,467 people with the surname Ballentine. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,976), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.16 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.16 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 Ballentine.
Has Ballentine become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ballentine went from 4,289 recorded bearers to 3,467. That is a decrease of 822 (-19.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,739 to #9,045.
What does the Census say about the background of Ballentine?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ballentine, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.2%. The next largest groups are Black (22.6%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Ballentine in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.2% (2,434 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ballentine appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (70.2%), Black (22.6%), Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Ballentine (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 Ballentine mean?
A Scottish and Irish surname derived from a place name meaning "settlement by a stream." 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 Ballentine (1.16 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 Americans have the surname Ballentine?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.