2000
#4,165
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,880
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.92
Rare Last name
Ballinger
An English occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of leather bags or pouches.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,282 Americans carry the last name Ballinger. That puts it at #4,750 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.42 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 41,385 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ballinger 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 Ballinger with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.3K
1 in 41,385
Census rank
#4,750
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,222 bearers of the surname Ballinger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.42 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4750th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ballinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.6%. The next largest groups are Black (6.6%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ballinger
Among Census respondents with the surname Ballinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.6%. The next largest groups are Black (6.6%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Ballinger 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 Ballinger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.6% · 6,107
- Black or African American6.6% · 476
- Two or more races4.2% · 305
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 232
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 52
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 50
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ballinger
Ballinger 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
#4,280
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,306
+426 bearers (+5.4%)
Per 100,000 2.82
Rank movement Down 115 places
2020
#4,750
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,222
-1,084 bearers (-13.1%)
Per 100,000 2.42
Rank movement Down 470 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,165 | 7,880 | 2.92 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,280 | 8,306 | 2.82 | +426 bearers (+5.4%) | Down 115 places |
| 2020 | #4,750 | 7,222 | 2.42 | -1,084 bearers (-13.1%) | Down 470 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 Ballinger 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 | #4,280 | #4,750 | -11.0% |
| Count | 8,306 | 7,222 | -13.1% |
| Per 100K | 2.82 | 2.42 | -14.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ballinger bearers went from 8,306 to 7,222 (-13.1% change). The surname moved down 470 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,280 to #4,750.
FAQ
Ballinger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ballinger?
Name Census estimates that about 8,282 living Americans carry the surname Ballinger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 41,385 residents.
How common is Ballinger?
Ballinger ranks #4,750 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.42 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 7,222 people with the surname Ballinger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,282), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.42 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.42 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 Ballinger.
Has Ballinger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ballinger went from 8,306 recorded bearers to 7,222. That is a decrease of 1,084 (-13.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,280 to #4,750.
What does the Census say about the background of Ballinger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ballinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.6%. The next largest groups are Black (6.6%) and Two or More Races (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 Ballinger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.6% (6,107 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ballinger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.6%), Black (6.6%), Two or More Races (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 Ballinger (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 Ballinger mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of leather bags or pouches. 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 Ballinger (2.42 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 Ballinger?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.