2000
#49,159
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 402
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.15
Very Rare Last name
Balin
A locational surname referring to someone from the Balkan region.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 431 Americans carry the last name Balin. That puts it at #58,307 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.13 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 795,254 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Balin 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
431
1 in 795,254
Census rank
#58,307
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
376
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 376 bearers of the surname Balin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.13 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 58307th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Balin, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (9.3%) and Two or More Races (5.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Balin
The surname Balin is of English origin, deriving from the medieval given name Balin, which was a diminutive form of the Old English name Balne, meaning "bald" or "shining one". The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the late 12th century in various regions of England, particularly in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
One of the earliest known references to the name Balin can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1195, which mention a Willelmus Balin. Additionally, the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327 record a Hugo Balin, indicating the surname's presence in different parts of the country during the Middle Ages.
The name Balin also appears in several literary works from the Middle English period, most notably in the Arthurian legends of the 14th century. In the famous romance "Le Morte d'Arthur" by Sir Thomas Malory, Balin le Sauvage is depicted as one of the Knights of the Round Table, known for his impulsive and destructive nature.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname Balin underwent various spelling variations, such as Ballin, Ballen, and Baling, particularly in parish records and historical documents from counties like Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, and Staffordshire. One notable bearer of the name was John Balen (c. 1560-1638), an English historian and author of "A Brief Chronicle of the Barons' Wars" published in 1629.
Other historical figures with the surname Balin include William Balin (fl. 1390), a member of the English Parliament for Gloucestershire, and Richard Balin (c. 1480-1545), a lawyer and landowner who served as Sheriff of Gloucestershire in the early 16th century.
In the 19th century, the Balin surname continued to be present in various parts of England, with notable individuals such as John Balin (1798-1874), a prominent architect from Cambridgeshire, and Thomas Balin (1821-1892), a businessman and philanthropist from Lancashire who funded the construction of several schools and churches in the region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Balin
Among Census respondents with the surname Balin, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (9.3%) and Two or More Races (5.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Balin 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 Balin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.5% · 280
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.3% · 35
- Two or more races5.9% · 22
- Black or African American5.6% · 21
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Balin
Balin 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
#52,736
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 393
-9 bearers (-2.2%)
Per 100,000 0.13
Rank movement Down 3,577 places
2020
#58,307
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 376
-17 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.13
Rank movement Down 5,571 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #49,159 | 402 | 0.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #52,736 | 393 | 0.13 | -9 bearers (-2.2%) | Down 3,577 places |
| 2020 | #58,307 | 376 | 0.13 | -17 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 5,571 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 Balin 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 | #52,736 | #58,307 | -10.6% |
| Count | 393 | 376 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.13 | 0.13 | -3.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Balin bearers went from 393 to 376 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 5,571 positions in the national ranking, going from #52,736 to #58,307.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Balin
FAQ
Balin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Balin?
Name Census estimates that about 431 living Americans carry the surname Balin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 795,254 residents.
How common is Balin?
Balin ranks #58,307 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.13 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 376 people with the surname Balin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (431), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.13 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.13 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 Balin.
Has Balin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Balin went from 393 recorded bearers to 376. That is a decrease of 17 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #52,736 to #58,307.
What does the Census say about the background of Balin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Balin, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (9.3%) and Two or More Races (5.9%). 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 Balin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.5% (280 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Balin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (9.3%), Two or More Races (5.9%). 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 Balin (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 Balin mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from the Balkan region. 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 Balin (0.13 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 Balin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.