Explore the Family Name Gjonbalaj

The meaning of Gjonbalaj

Albanian (mainly Kosovo, also Montenegro): from the name of the Gjonbalaj brotherhood or clan of the northern Albanian Kelmendi tribe, which is a patronymic derived from the name of the ancestor Gjon Bala. In Montenegro it is usually found in the Serbianized form Đonbaljaj.

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

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

The surname Gjonbalaj has seen a significant increase in popularity in the United States, as indicated by data from the Decennial U.S. Census. In 2000, Gjonbalaj was ranked 79,394th and had a count of 223. However, by 2010, its rank had risen to 53,419th and the count increased to 387, a growth of 73.54% in a decade. The proportion of Gjonbalaj per 100,000 people also rose from 0.08 to 0.13 during this period, marking a change of 62.5%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#79,394	#53,419	32.72%
Count	223	387	73.54%
Proportion per 100k	0.08	0.13	62.5%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Gjonbalaj

In terms of ethnicity based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the Gjonbalaj surname has seen some shifts over the years. In 2000, a large majority (81.61%) identified as White, followed by those who identified with two or more races (17.94%). However, by 2010, nearly all (96.12%) identified as White, indicating a 17.78% increase over the decade. Meanwhile, those claiming two or more races dropped significantly to just 1.55%. Interestingly, the 2010 Census also saw a new ethnic identity emerge among Gjonbalajs: Hispanic, at 2.07%. As for Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, and American Indian and Alaskan Native identities, no individuals with the Gjonbalaj surname identified with these groups in either 2000 or 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
White	81.61%	96.12%	17.78%
Hispanic	0%	2.07%	0%
Two or More Races	17.94%	1.55%	-91.36%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%