Explore the Family Name Balfour
The meaning of Balfour
Scottish: habitational name from any of several places in eastern Scotland named with Gaelic bail(e) ‘village, farm, house’ + pùir, genitive case of pór ‘pasture, grass’ (lenited to phùir in certain contexts). The second element is akin to Welsh pawr ‘pasture’. The principal British family bearing this name derives it from the barony of Balfour in the parish of Markinch, Fife. According to the traditional pronunciation, the accent falls on the second syllable, but these days it is found more commonly on the first.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Balfour in the United States?
Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Balfour has seen a slight decrease in popularity between the years 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked 13,311th in terms of popularity, but by 2010 it had dropped to the rank of 13,435, a change of -0.93%. Despite this small drop in rank, the number of people with the Balfour name actually increased by 8% over the same period, going from 2,100 in 2000 to 2,268 in 2010. However, when considering the proportion per 100k, there was a minor decrease of -1.28%, indicating that while more people bore the surname, its prevalence in relation to the overall population slightly declined.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #13,311 | #13,435 | -0.93% |
| Count | 2,100 | 2,268 | 8% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.78 | 0.77 | -1.28% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Balfour
The Balfour surname exhibits a diverse ethnic identity as revealed by the Decennial U.S. Census data. In 2000, a notable 67.81% of individuals with the Balfour surname identified as White, though this figure dropped to 63.80% by 2010. The next largest group, Black, increased from 26.71% in 2000 to 29.32% in 2010. A significant growth was seen in the Hispanic segment, which rose by 42.76%, albeit from a small base of 2.90% in 2000 to 4.14% in 2010. Those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander and those reporting two or more races also saw increases, at 6.45% and 21.71% respectively. Meanwhile, those claiming American Indian and Alaskan Native ethnicity decreased notably by -48.84%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 67.81% | 63.8% | -5.91% |
| Black | 26.71% | 29.32% | 9.77% |
| Hispanic | 2.9% | 4.14% | 42.76% |
| Two or More Races | 1.52% | 1.85% | 21.71% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.62% | 0.66% | 6.45% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.43% | 0.22% | -48.84% |
Balfour ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Balfour is British & Irish, which comprises 51.9% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (16.5%) and Ashkenazi Jewish (6.6%). Additional ancestries include Eastern European, Nigerian, Ghanaian, Liberian & Sierra Leonean, Italian, and Spanish & Portuguese.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| British & Irish | 51.9% |
| French & German | 16.5% |
| Ashkenazi Jewish | 6.6% |
| Other | 25.0% |
Possible origins of the surname Balfour
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Balfour have recent ancestry locations all within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| West Midlands, United Kingdom | 74.20% |
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 74.20% |
| West Yorkshire, United Kingdom | 74.20% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 74.20% |
| Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 74.20% |
What Balfour haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Balfour is O-F2415, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup O-F2415 is descended from haplogroup O-M1359. Other common haplogroups include E-M183 and O-F2859, which are predominantly found among people with European and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Balfour surname are: H1, H, K1. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins O-M1359
Your paternal lineage may be linked to the Cham
One of the many populations harboring members of haplogroup O1b1a1a1a1 is the Cham ethnic group, a group of people who speak Austronesian languages in Mainland Southeast Asia. Austronesian languages make up a language family that is extremely large and widespread, comprising over 350 million people on islands such as Madagascar, Easter Island, and many others. However, Austronesian languages are less common on mainland Asia, with a notable exception being the Chamic language. Research suggests that ancestors of the Cham people migrated from Southeast Asian islands to the mainland around the year 500 BCE, and that early Cham populations quickly began mixing with indigenous southern Vietnamese populations. As a result, the Chamic language now has words that were borrowed from languages spoken by indigenous Vietnamese people. It is likely that an ancestral Kinh population was one of the populations that mixed with the Cham people shortly after their migration to mainland Asia.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname Balfour have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Balfour" Surname 50.0%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"Balfour" Surname 31.2%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Vitamin Use
Takes vitamins on a regular basis.
"Balfour" Surname 57.1%
23andMe Users 45.5%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Balfour" Surname 15.5%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Balfour?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Balfour are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition