Ballard
Masculine · “Middle English balled”
Ballard means bald-head. Medieval England named men by their hair with some enthusiasm, and the surname stock preserves it: Ballard for the bald, Nott for the close-cropped, Whitehead, Blunt for the fair.
How old is the name Ballard?
Ballard was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Ballard alive today was born around 1930, making them about 95 years old. About 300 people named Ballard are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ballard most popular?
Ballard peaked in 1889, reaching #549 nationally. Today it ranks #10695, 10,146 places below that high. See the whole 1889 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From balled to Ballard
The story of Ballard
Before surnames were hereditary a man was identified by his father, his trade, his village or his appearance, and the appearance names are the frankest documents medieval England left. Ballard is a bald man; Nott is one with cropped hair, from a word related to neat; Blunt or Blount is fair-haired, from French blond; Russell is red-haired; Grigg and Grissell are grey; Whitlock has white hair, Sherlock bright hair, and Harlock hoary. None of them was chosen by the bearer. They were what the neighbors called him, and they became permanent when the paperwork caught up, which is why the English surname stock preserves a village's opinion of several million dead men.
Meaning
Middle English balled, bald, with a suffix
From Middle English balled, bald, with the ending -ard, giving a nickname for a bald-headed man. The suffix is French and generally carries a rough or pejorative force. The American peak of the given name is 1889.
How the name formed
- balled
- Ballard
Related forms: Ballerd
Pronouncing Ballard
BAL-urd
Two syllables, stress on the first, the second reduced to a schwa.
Nicknames for Ballard
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 192240 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #549reached in 1889
- Change vs 1997
- −14.3%6 in 2025, from 7
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Ballard in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ballerd in English — spelling variant
Ballards among us
people named Ballard are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 284,679 born in 2025 was named Ballard
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Ballard sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Ballard beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Ballard in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Two syllables and seven letters, spelled as heard.
- It is a genuine surname with a documented meaning.
- It reads as solid and unfussy.
- The literal meaning is bald-headed.
- It reads as a surname to most Americans.
- Its 1889 peak places it early in the records.
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Ballard
Masculine · #10695 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Ballards are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Ballard are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ballard in 2025?
- Ballard ranks #10695 among US boy names in 2025, with 6 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Ballard?
- About 1 in every 284,679 US boys born in 2025 was named Ballard — 6 in all.
- Will my child share the name Ballard with classmates?
- Ballard will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Ballard
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Dudley#10695 · Dell#10695 · Buford#10695 · Toney#10695 · Allison#10695 · Candido#10695 · Jodie#10695 · Nora#10695
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ballard? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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