2000
#4,311
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,616
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.82
Rare Last name
Ballew
A Norman French habitational surname derived from the place name Belleau, meaning "beautiful water."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,419 Americans carry the last name Ballew. That puts it at #4,686 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.46 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 40,712 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ballew 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
8.4K
1 in 40,712
Census rank
#4,686
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,342 bearers of the surname Ballew in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.46 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4686th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ballew, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.1%) and Black (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ballew
The surname Ballew is of English origin, believed to have originated in the county of Cornwall during the medieval period. It is thought to be a variant of the Cornish place name Baylew or Baylieu, which is derived from the Cornish words "bay" meaning hill and "lew" meaning locus or place.
According to historical records, one of the earliest documented instances of the name can be found in the Cornish Subsidy Rolls of 1327, where a William de Baylew is listed as a taxpayer in the village of St. Columb Major. The name also appears in various manorial records and parish registers from the 14th to 16th centuries, with spellings such as Baylew, Baylieu, and Bayloe.
During the late 16th century, the surname began to spread beyond Cornwall as people migrated to other parts of England. One notable figure bearing the name was John Ballew (c. 1545-1620), a merchant and alderman of the city of Bristol. His descendants can be traced through various records, including wills and parish registers.
In the 17th century, a branch of the Ballew family settled in the county of Hertfordshire, where they were landowners and farmers. A notable member of this line was Thomas Ballew (1633-1705), whose memorial can be found in the parish church of St. Michael and All Angels in Bishops Stortford.
Another significant historical figure with the surname Ballew was Sir Edward Ballew (1688-1768), a Member of Parliament for the borough of Arundel in Sussex. He was a wealthy landowner and influential figure in local politics.
By the 18th and 19th centuries, the Ballew surname had spread across England and even into parts of Scotland and Ireland, where it is sometimes spelled Balloo or Ballough. One notable Scottish bearer of the name was Archibald Ballew (1792-1857), a successful merchant and shipowner based in Glasgow.
Throughout its history, the surname Ballew has had numerous spelling variations, including Baylew, Baylieu, Bayloe, Balloo, Ballough, and Ballue, reflecting the regional dialects and the inconsistencies in record-keeping and spelling conventions of earlier times.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ballew
Among Census respondents with the surname Ballew, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.1%) and Black (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Ballew 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 Ballew surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.8% · 6,224
- Two or more races5.1% · 373
- Black or African American4.2% · 309
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 237
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 146
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 53
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ballew
Ballew 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
#4,514
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,857
+241 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 2.66
Rank movement Down 203 places
2020
#4,686
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,342
-515 bearers (-6.6%)
Per 100,000 2.46
Rank movement Down 172 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,311 | 7,616 | 2.82 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,514 | 7,857 | 2.66 | +241 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 203 places |
| 2020 | #4,686 | 7,342 | 2.46 | -515 bearers (-6.6%) | Down 172 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 Ballew 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 | #4,514 | #4,686 | -3.8% |
| Count | 7,857 | 7,342 | -6.6% |
| Per 100K | 2.66 | 2.46 | -7.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ballew bearers went from 7,857 to 7,342 (-6.6% change). The surname moved down 172 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,514 to #4,686.
FAQ
Ballew surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ballew?
Name Census estimates that about 8,419 living Americans carry the surname Ballew. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 40,712 residents.
How common is Ballew?
Ballew ranks #4,686 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.46 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,342 people with the surname Ballew. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,419), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.46 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.46 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Ballew.
Has Ballew become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ballew went from 7,857 recorded bearers to 7,342. That is a decrease of 515 (-6.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,514 to #4,686.
What does the Census say about the background of Ballew?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ballew, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.1%) and Black (4.2%). 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 Ballew in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.8% (6,224 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ballew appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.8%), Two or More Races (5.1%), Black (4.2%). 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 Ballew (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 Ballew mean?
A Norman French habitational surname derived from the place name Belleau, meaning "beautiful water." 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 Ballew (2.46 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 Ballew?
If you just want to know how common the surname Ballew is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.