Explore the Family Name Babalola

The meaning of Babalola

West African (Nigeria): from the Yoruba personal name Babalǫlá, from baba l’ǫlá ‘the father is honor’, understood as ‘the father is the source of honor’, i.e. for the child.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Babalola in the United States?

The surname Babalola saw a significant increase in popularity between the 2000 and 2010 Decennial U.S. Census periods. In the year 2000, it was ranked 73,154 in terms of popularity, but by 2010 it had jumped to rank 39,281 – an impressive growth of 46.3%. The total count of individuals with this surname also rose from 247 to 560, marking a 126.72% increase. When considering the proportion of people named Babalola per 100,000, the number doubled, going up from 0.09 to 0.19, a surge of 111.11%.

20002010Change
Rank#73,154#39,28146.3%
Count247560126.72%
Proportion per 100k0.090.19111.11%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Babalola

As for ethnicity, based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, most individuals with the surname Babalola identified as Black, accounting for 93.52% in 2000 and increasing slightly to 96.07% in 2010. A small portion of people with this surname identified as having two or more races, although this percentage decreased from 2.83% in 2000 to 1.61% in 2010. Similarly, the percentage of those identifying as White also declined from 2.02% to 1.07%. No individuals with the Babalola surname reported being of Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, or American Indian and Alaskan Native ethnicity during either census period.

20002010Change
Black93.52%96.07%2.73%
Two or More Races2.83%1.61%-43.11%
White2.02%1.07%-47.03%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%0%0%
Hispanic0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%