2000
#104,257
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 159
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Ballines
A variant spelling of the French surname Baleine, derived from the Old French word for whale.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 252 Americans carry the last name Ballines. That puts it at #90,184 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,360,136 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ballines 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
252
1 in 1,360,136
Census rank
#90,184
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
220
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 220 bearers of the surname Ballines in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 90184th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ballines, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 97.3%. The next largest groups are White (1.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ballines
The surname BALLINES is of Spanish origin, derived from the Basque region near the Pyrenees mountains. It is believed to have originated in the late 15th century, possibly as a locative name referring to someone who lived near a prominent hill or mound. The root of the name may be the Basque word "balin," meaning small hill or knoll.
Records from the 16th and 17th centuries show various spellings such as Ballinez, Ballinas, and Ballines appearing in church registers and municipal documents from the Basque provinces of Vizcaya, Guipúzcoa, and Álava. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Juan de Ballines, a merchant from Bilbao who was mentioned in trade records from 1512.
In the 1600s, the name began to spread beyond the Basque region as families migrated to other parts of Spain and the Spanish colonies in the Americas. Hernando Ballines, born in 1625 in Vitoria, was a soldier who participated in the conquest of Mexico and later settled in Puebla. His descendants established themselves as landowners and ranchers in central Mexico.
During the 18th century, several Ballines families were prominent in the Spanish military and colonial administration. Captain Pedro Ballines (1701-1778) served as a colonial governor in Puerto Rico, while Miguel Ballines (1735-1802) was a naval officer who fought in the Anglo-Spanish War.
In the 19th century, notable bearers of the name included José Ballines (1821-1892), a Spanish politician and journalist who played a role in the Glorious Revolution of 1868, and María Ballines (1845-1912), a celebrated opera singer who performed in major theaters across Europe.
Other prominent individuals with the BALLINES surname include Francisco Ballines (1871-1936), a Spanish architect who designed several landmark buildings in Barcelona, and Javier Ballines (1925-2001), a Mexican sculptor whose works are displayed in public spaces throughout Mexico City.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ballines
Among Census respondents with the surname Ballines, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 97.3%. The next largest groups are White (1.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Ballines 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 Ballines surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino97.3% · 214
- White1.8% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ballines
Ballines 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
#83,541
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 225
+66 bearers (+41.5%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Up 20,716 places
2020
#90,184
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 220
-5 bearers (-2.2%)
Per 100,000 0.07
Rank movement Down 6,643 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #104,257 | 159 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #83,541 | 225 | 0.08 | +66 bearers (+41.5%) | Up 20,716 places |
| 2020 | #90,184 | 220 | 0.07 | -5 bearers (-2.2%) | Down 6,643 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 Ballines 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 | #83,541 | #90,184 | -8.0% |
| Count | 225 | 220 | -2.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.08 | 0.07 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ballines bearers went from 225 to 220 (-2.2% change). The surname moved down 6,643 positions in the national ranking, going from #83,541 to #90,184.
FAQ
Ballines surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ballines?
Name Census estimates that about 252 living Americans carry the surname Ballines. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,360,136 residents.
How common is Ballines?
Ballines ranks #90,184 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.07 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 220 people with the surname Ballines. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (252), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.07 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Ballines.
Has Ballines become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ballines went from 225 recorded bearers to 220. That is a decrease of 5 (-2.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #83,541 to #90,184.
What does the Census say about the background of Ballines?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ballines, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 97.3%. The next largest groups are White (1.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Ballines in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.3% (214 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ballines appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (97.3%), White (1.8%), American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%). 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 Ballines (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 Ballines mean?
A variant spelling of the French surname Baleine, derived from the Old French word for whale. 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 Ballines (0.07 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 Ballines?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.