Explore the Family Name Balke

The meaning of Balke

1. German: variant of Balk 2. 2. Norwegian: habitational name from a farmstead named Balke, from Old Norse balkr ‘beam’, used in the sense ‘ridge’. Some characteristic forenames: German Fritz, Hans, Bodo, Hartwig, Horst, Manfred, Otto.

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

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

Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname 'Balke' saw an increase in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, this surname ranked 18,473rd in popularity, but by 2010 it had risen to 13,775th, marking a considerable leap of 25.43%. The number of individuals with this surname also increased from 1,380 to 2,196 during this period, indicating a significant rise of 59.13%. The proportion of people named 'Balke' per 100,000 population also surged by 45.1% over the decade.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#18,473	#13,775	25.43%
Count	1,380	2,196	59.13%
Proportion per 100k	0.51	0.74	45.1%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Balke

When analyzing the ethnic identity associated with the surname 'Balke', the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals a shift in demographic profiles between 2000 and 2010. While the majority of individuals identified as White in both years, the percentage dropped from 95.58% in 2000 to 81.69% in 2010. There was a notable rise in those identifying as Black and Hispanic, with increases of 820.21% and 140.89% respectively. The Asian/Pacific Islander category also appeared in 2010 at 2.91%, while the percentage of those claiming two or more races dropped to zero. However, there were no individuals identified as American Indian and Alaskan Native in either year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	95.58%	81.69%	-14.53%
Black	0.94%	8.65%	820.21%
Hispanic	2.25%	5.42%	140.89%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	2.91%	0%
Two or More Races	1.01%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%