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

Ballinger, 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 Ballinger surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ballinger in America

Ballinger is the 4280th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ballinger surname appeared 8,306 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Ballinger.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ballinger 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 Ballinger

The surname Ballinger is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "ball" meaning a rounded hill or a hill-spur, and "inger" an occupational suffix referring to someone who lived on or near such a landscape feature. This name first emerged in the medieval period, around the 11th or 12th century, in the counties of Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, and Herefordshire in the West Midlands region of England.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Ballinger surname can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Worcestershire from the year 1221, where a person named Henry Ballinger is mentioned. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also list a Richard Balinger from Gloucestershire. These entries suggest the name was well-established in the region by the 13th century.

The Ballinger surname is also associated with various place names in the West Midlands, such as Ballinghall in Shropshire and Ballingdon in Sudbury, both derived from the Old English words "ball" and "inger." Additionally, the variant spelling Ballinger's Green is a locality near Kinver in Staffordshire, further indicating the name's strong regional ties.

Notable historical figures bearing the Ballinger surname include:

1. John Ballinger (c. 1516 - 1587), an English churchman who served as Bishop of Salisbury from 1559 until his death.
2. Sir Richard Ballinger (c. 1535 - 1606), an English lawyer and judge who served as Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas from 1600 to 1606.
3. John Ballinger (c. 1670 - 1728), an English writer and translator, best known for his translation of Virgil's Georgics into English.
4. William Ballinger (1718 - 1795), an English engraver and artist, known for his engravings of portraits and landscapes.
5. John Ballinger (1785 - 1846), an English architect and surveyor, notable for his work on several churches and public buildings in the West Midlands region.

While the Ballinger surname has its roots in the West Midlands of England, it has since spread to other parts of the United Kingdom and beyond, with notable bearers of the name found in various fields throughout history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ballinger

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

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

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

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