2000
#119,644
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 134
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Balmas
A surname of Italian origin, deriving from the Latin word 'balmus', meaning a cave or grotto.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Balmas. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Balmas 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Balmas in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Balmas, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Balmas
The surname Balmas has its origins in the Iberian Peninsula, specifically the Basque region that straddles the border between Spain and France. The name is derived from the Basque word "balma," which means "cave" or "grotto." This suggests that the earliest bearers of the name may have lived in or near a notable cave or rock formation.
Balmas is a relatively uncommon surname, but it can be traced back to the 16th century in historical records from the Basque region. One of the earliest documented instances of the name is found in the baptismal records of the church of San Miguel de Idiazabal in Gipuzkoa, Spain, where a child named Juan Balmas was baptized in 1573.
The name Balmas is also found in some early French records, likely due to the proximity of the Basque region to southwestern France. In the 17th century, a family with the surname Balmas was recorded in the parish registers of the town of Oloron-Sainte-Marie in the Pyrenees region of France.
One notable historical figure with the surname Balmas was Juan de Balmas, a Basque soldier who fought in the Spanish conquest of the Americas in the 16th century. He participated in the expeditions of Hernán Cortés and Pedro de Alvarado and was among the first Spaniards to set foot in what is now Mexico and Guatemala.
Another individual of note was Pedro Balmas, a 17th-century Spanish architect and engineer who worked on several notable projects in Madrid, including the construction of the Plaza Mayor and the Buen Retiro Palace.
In the 18th century, a French military officer named Jean-Baptiste Balmas served in the Napoleonic Wars and was awarded the Legion of Honor for his service at the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805.
Fast-forwarding to the 20th century, a Spanish artist named Manuel Balmas gained recognition for his avant-garde paintings and sculptures, which were exhibited in galleries across Europe in the 1920s and 1930s.
Finally, one of the most notable modern-day figures with the surname Balmas is Gonzalo Balmas, a Basque chef who has earned Michelin stars for his innovative cuisine at his restaurant in San Sebastian, Spain.
While relatively uncommon, the surname Balmas has a rich history that can be traced back to its Basque origins and the meaning of "cave" or "grotto." It has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including soldiers, architects, artists, and chefs, across multiple centuries and countries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Balmas
Among Census respondents with the surname Balmas, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Balmas 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 Balmas surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.7% · 96
- Hispanic or Latino10.1% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.6% · 9
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Balmas
Balmas 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
#123,064
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 140
+6 bearers (+4.5%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 3,420 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-21 bearers (-15.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 19,724 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #119,644 | 134 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #123,064 | 140 | 0.05 | +6 bearers (+4.5%) | Down 3,420 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | -21 bearers (-15.0%) | Down 19,724 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 Balmas 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 | #123,064 | #142,788 | -16.0% |
| Count | 140 | 119 | -15.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -20.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Balmas bearers went from 140 to 119 (-15.0% change). The surname moved down 19,724 positions in the national ranking, going from #123,064 to #142,788.
FAQ
Balmas surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Balmas?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Balmas. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Balmas?
Balmas ranks #142,788 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 119 people with the surname Balmas. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Balmas.
Has Balmas become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Balmas went from 140 recorded bearers to 119. That is a decrease of 21 (-15.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #123,064 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Balmas?
Among Census respondents with the surname Balmas, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.6%). 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 Balmas in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.7% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Balmas appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.7%), Hispanic (10.1%), Asian/Pacific Islander (7.6%). 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 Balmas (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 Balmas mean?
A surname of Italian origin, deriving from the Latin word 'balmus', meaning a cave or grotto. 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 Balmas (0.04 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 surname Balmas?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.