2000
#5,753
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,509
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.04
Rare Last name
Ballou
A French toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "small fortified town."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,159 Americans carry the last name Ballou. That puts it at #6,117 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.80 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 55,651 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ballou 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
6.2K
1 in 55,651
Census rank
#6,117
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,371 bearers of the surname Ballou in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.80 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6117th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ballou, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.1%. The next largest groups are Black (10.7%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ballou
The surname Ballou originated in France, specifically in the region of Normandy. It is believed to have derived from the Old French word "bailleul," which means "small town" or "village." This suggests that the name likely originated from a place name referring to a small settlement or locality.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ballou can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears as "Bailliole," which was likely the spelling used at the time.
In the 13th century, records show that a family bearing the name Ballou resided in the town of Bailleul, located in the northern region of France near the Belgian border. It is possible that this town was the original place from which the name derived.
The earliest known person with the surname Ballou was Jehan de Bailleul, who lived in the late 12th century and was a prominent landowner in Normandy. Another notable figure was Robert de Bailleul, a Norman knight who fought alongside William the Conqueror during the Norman conquest of England in 1066.
In the 17th century, the Ballou family spread to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas. One of the earliest recorded Ballous in the American colonies was Mathurin Ballou, who was born in France around 1615 and immigrated to Rhode Island in the 1640s.
Other notable individuals with the surname Ballou throughout history include:
1. Hosea Ballou (1771-1852), an American Universalist minister and influential religious leader who helped establish the Universalist Church of America.
2. Maturin Murray Ballou (1820-1895), an American author, travel writer, and journalist who founded several publications, including Ballou's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion.
3. Adin Ballou (1803-1890), an American Christian anarchist, abolitionist, and advocate of non-resistance who founded the Utopian community of Hopedale in Massachusetts.
4. Benjamin Ballou (1767-1853), an American Revolutionary War soldier and early settler of Ohio.
5. William Hosea Ballou (1866-1942), an American lawyer and politician who served as the 34th Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island from 1917 to 1921.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ballou
Among Census respondents with the surname Ballou, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.1%. The next largest groups are Black (10.7%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Ballou 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 Ballou surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.1% · 4,304
- Black or African American10.7% · 574
- Two or more races3.9% · 208
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 162
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 82
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 41
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ballou
Ballou 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
#5,936
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,800
+291 bearers (+5.3%)
Per 100,000 1.97
Rank movement Down 183 places
2020
#6,117
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,371
-429 bearers (-7.4%)
Per 100,000 1.80
Rank movement Down 181 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,753 | 5,509 | 2.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,936 | 5,800 | 1.97 | +291 bearers (+5.3%) | Down 183 places |
| 2020 | #6,117 | 5,371 | 1.80 | -429 bearers (-7.4%) | Down 181 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 Ballou 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 | #5,936 | #6,117 | -3.0% |
| Count | 5,800 | 5,371 | -7.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.97 | 1.80 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ballou bearers went from 5,800 to 5,371 (-7.4% change). The surname moved down 181 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,936 to #6,117.
FAQ
Ballou surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ballou?
Name Census estimates that about 6,159 living Americans carry the surname Ballou. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 55,651 residents.
How common is Ballou?
Ballou ranks #6,117 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.80 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 5,371 people with the surname Ballou. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,159), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.8 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.80 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 Ballou.
Has Ballou become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ballou went from 5,800 recorded bearers to 5,371. That is a decrease of 429 (-7.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,936 to #6,117.
What does the Census say about the background of Ballou?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ballou, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.1%. The next largest groups are Black (10.7%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Ballou in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.1% (4,304 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ballou appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.1%), Black (10.7%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Ballou (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 Ballou mean?
A French toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "small fortified town." 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 Ballou (1.80 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 have the last name Ballou?
Find out how many people are called Ballou on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.