2000
#10,208
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,897
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.07
Rare Last name
Balzer
A German occupational surname derived from the word "Balzer," meaning a pelt dresser or furrier.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,047 Americans carry the last name Balzer. That puts it at #11,348 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.89 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 112,489 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Balzer 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
3.0K
1 in 112,489
Census rank
#11,348
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,657 bearers of the surname Balzer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.89 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11348th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Balzer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Balzer
The surname Balzer is of German origin, derived from the medieval given name Baltzar, which is a variant of the name Balthasar. The name Balthasar is ultimately derived from the Babylonian name Bel-shar-usur, meaning "Bel (a Babylonian god) protect the king." This name was borne by one of the three Magi who visited the infant Jesus, according to the biblical account.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Balzer can be found in various German records dating back to the 13th century. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Balzer von Kreutzburg, a nobleman from the region of Saxony-Anhalt, who lived in the late 14th century.
In the 15th century, the surname Balzer appeared in the town records of Nürnberg (Nuremberg), a city in the northern Bavarian region of Germany. For instance, a certain Hans Balzer was listed as a taxpayer in the city's records in 1487.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Balzer was particularly prevalent in the German states of Saxony, Thuringia, and Brandenburg. Notable individuals bearing this surname include Johann Balzer (1738-1799), a German mathematician and astronomer, and Christian Gottlieb Balzer (1794-1831), a German jurist and legal scholar.
In the 18th century, the surname Balzer also gained a foothold in other parts of Europe, including Austria and Switzerland. One notable bearer of the name from this period was Franz Balzer (1768-1853), an Austrian composer and violinist who was active in Vienna during the early 19th century.
As Germans emigrated to various parts of the world, the surname Balzer spread to other countries, including the United States, Canada, and Australia. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in America is that of Johann Balzer, a German immigrant who settled in Pennsylvania in the mid-18th century.
Overall, the surname Balzer has a rich history that can be traced back to medieval Germany, and it has been borne by numerous notable individuals throughout the centuries, including academics, musicians, and legal scholars.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Balzer
Among Census respondents with the surname Balzer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Balzer 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 Balzer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.8% · 2,466
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 104
- Two or more races2.1% · 57
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 25
- Black or African American0.1% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Balzer
Balzer 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
#11,073
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,869
-28 bearers (-1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.97
Rank movement Down 865 places
2020
#11,348
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,657
-212 bearers (-7.4%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Down 275 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,208 | 2,897 | 1.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,073 | 2,869 | 0.97 | -28 bearers (-1.0%) | Down 865 places |
| 2020 | #11,348 | 2,657 | 0.89 | -212 bearers (-7.4%) | Down 275 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 Balzer 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 | #11,073 | #11,348 | -2.5% |
| Count | 2,869 | 2,657 | -7.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.97 | 0.89 | -8.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Balzer bearers went from 2,869 to 2,657 (-7.4% change). The surname moved down 275 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,073 to #11,348.
FAQ
Balzer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Balzer?
Name Census estimates that about 3,047 living Americans carry the surname Balzer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 112,489 residents.
How common is Balzer?
Balzer ranks #11,348 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.89 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,657 people with the surname Balzer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,047), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.89 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.89 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Balzer.
Has Balzer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Balzer went from 2,869 recorded bearers to 2,657. That is a decrease of 212 (-7.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,073 to #11,348.
What does the Census say about the background of Balzer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Balzer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Balzer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (2,466 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Balzer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.8%), Hispanic (3.9%), Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Balzer (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 Balzer mean?
A German occupational surname derived from the word "Balzer," meaning a pelt dresser or furrier. 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 Balzer (0.89 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 Balzer?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.