The Balla surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 1,603 people carried this name — #17,551 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 185,200 people counted. That is up 6% from 1,508 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Balla surname
Originally a nickname meaning "rascal," from balosso (“dumb, stupid, harebrained”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Balla» (Italian), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 316 people named Balla live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Entre Ríos.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
155 people named Balla live in Switzerland.
They live in 16 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 82 people named Balla.
41 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 15 départements, most often Bas-Rhin.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Poland’s population register
77 people named Balla have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 178 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 7 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Lesser Poland.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 58 people named Balla live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Brussels-Capital.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
83 people named Balla is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
Who carried it
People named Balla,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Károly Balla 1792–1873 · poet -
Filiberto Balla 1703–1759 · Catholic theologian
-
Gergely Balla 1715–1774 · chronicler
-
Imre Balla 1735–1799 · Unitarian pastor
-
Joseph-François Balla 1737–1806 · politician
-
Antal Balla 1739–1815 · engineer
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Balla.
- Balestrieri 787 · U.S. census
- Balga 144 · U.S. census
- Bali 484 · U.S. census
- Balian 867 · U.S. census
- Balin 393 · U.S. census
- Ball 66,059 · U.S. census
- Ballan 245 · U.S. census
- Ballanger 214 · U.S. census
- Ballard 61,625 · U.S. census
- Ballas 1,188 · U.S. census
- Ballast 164 · U.S. census
- Ballatore 153 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Balla is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.