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

Balseca, 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 Balseca surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Balseca in America

Balseca is the 79846th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Balseca surname appeared 238 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Balseca.

We can also compare 2010 data for Balseca 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 Balseca

The surname Balseca originates from Ecuador and can be traced back to the early 16th century during the Spanish colonization of the region. It is believed to be derived from the Quechua language, which was widely spoken by the indigenous people of Ecuador and other parts of South America. The name may have its roots in the words "balsa" meaning "raft" and "cca" meaning "place," suggesting a connection to a location where rafts were used or built.

One of the earliest known references to the Balseca surname can be found in the records of the Spanish conquistadors who explored and colonized the region. It is documented that a Spanish soldier named Juan Balseca participated in the conquest of Quito, the capital of the Inca Empire, in the early 1530s.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Balseca name appeared in several historical documents and records related to land ownership and legal proceedings in the provinces of Pichincha and Imbabura, located in the northern highlands of Ecuador. Notable individuals from this time period include María Balseca, who was involved in a legal dispute over land inheritance in the town of Cayambe in the late 1600s, and Pedro Balseca, a landowner in the Otavalo region in the mid-1700s.

As the surname spread throughout Ecuador, it also took on various spellings and variations, such as Balzeca, Balcesa, and Balsesa, reflecting the influence of regional dialects and local pronunciations. One of the most prominent figures with the Balseca surname was José María Balseca (1830-1901), a renowned Ecuadorian writer, journalist, and politician who played a significant role in the country's literary and cultural development during the 19th century.

Other notable individuals with the Balseca surname include Juan Balseca (1856-1932), an Ecuadorian military officer who participated in several armed conflicts and served as the Minister of War and Navy during the early 20th century. Dolores Balseca (1882-1967) was a respected educator and feminist activist who advocated for women's rights and educational reform in Ecuador.

In more recent times, the Balseca name has been associated with several accomplished individuals in various fields, such as Carlos Balseca (1920-2005), a renowned Ecuadorian painter and sculptor, and Iván Balseca (born 1962), a successful businessman and entrepreneur who founded one of the largest food production companies in Ecuador.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Balseca

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

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

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

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