Explore the Family Name Balls

The meaning of Balls

English (Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex): variant of Ball, with excrescent -s.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname "Balls" has seen substantial growth in popularity in the last decade. In 2000, it ranked as the 25,147th most popular surname but by 2010, it had risen to the 17,927th position, marking a change of 28.71%. The count of individuals bearing this surname also increased from 925 in 2000 to 1,559 in 2010, a significant rise of 68.54%. Consequently, the proportion of the Balls surname per 100,000 people also rose by 55.88%, from 0.34 in 2000 to 0.53 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#25,147	#17,927	28.71%
Count	925	1,559	68.54%
Proportion per 100k	0.34	0.53	55.88%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Balls

Turning to the ethnicity of those bearing the surname "Balls", the Decennial U.S. Census shows some shifts between 2000 and 2010. Most people with this surname identified as White, with the percentage increasing slightly from 79.14% in 2000 to 80.18% in 2010. Individuals of Black ethnic identity comprised 15.57% of the Balls surname holders in 2000, but this number fell to 13.21% in 2010. Hispanic representation remained relatively stable, decreasing slightly from 3.68% in 2000 to 3.66% in 2010. Those identifying with two or more races were a small but growing group, increasing from 0.97% in 2000 to 1.41% in 2010. No individuals bearing the Balls surname identified as Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either census year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	79.14%	80.18%	1.31%
Black	15.57%	13.21%	-15.16%
Hispanic	3.68%	3.66%	-0.54%
Two or More Races	0.97%	1.41%	45.36%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%