Ballance History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Ballance

What does the name Ballance mean?

The ancient name of Ballance finds its origins with the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from a name for a maker of balances and scales and the precise weights needed in the use of such devices having derived from the English word balancer and the Old French word balancier. The Norman Conquest of England in 1066 led to a mingling of French and the various dialects of English that were then common. As a result, the line between English and French name origins is often less than definitive in cases dating from this time.

Early Origins of the Ballance family

The surname Ballance was first found in Warwickshire, where they held a family seat from early times.

Early History of the Ballance family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ballance research. Another 180 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1196, 1283, 1300, 1316 and 1500 are included under the topic Early Ballance History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ballance Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Ballance family name include Balancer, Balance, Ballancer, Ballance, Balauncer, Ballauncer, Balancor and many more.

Early Notables of the Ballance family

More information is included under the topic Early Ballance Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ballance Ranking

In the United States, the name Ballance is the 8,597^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1

Ballance migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Ballance surname or a spelling variation of the name include :

Ballance Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Jo Ballance, aged 19, who landed in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Merchant's Hope" 2
William Ballance, who landed in Virginia in 1656 2

Ballance migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Ballance Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. James Ballance, British convict who was convicted in Stafford, Staffordshire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Calcutta" in February 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, the settlement was listed as abandoned and most of the convicts transported to Tasmania on the "Queen" in 1804 3
Mr. John Ballance, (b. 1796), aged 42, Irish labourer who was convicted in County Down, Ireland for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Elphinstone" on 29th December 1838, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1839 4

Ballance migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Ballance Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Robert Ballance, (b. 1843), aged 19, British ploughman travelling from London aboard the ship "Echunga" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 24th December 1862 5
H. Ballance, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Surat" in 1864
Eleanor Ballance, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Surat" in 1864

Contemporary Notables of the name Ballance (post 1700) +

Frank W. Ballance Jr., (1942-2019), American politician and attorney, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina (2003-2004)
Laura Jane Ballance (b. 1968), American bassist in the rock band Superchunk
Willis "Bill" Ballance (1918-2004), American radio talk show host
L. Charles Ballance, American Republican politician, Candidate in primary for Delegate to Michigan State Constitutional Convention from Grand Traverse District, 1961 6
Chris Ballance (b. 1952), English-born, Scottish playwright and politician, former Member of the Scottish Parliament for the South of Scotland region (2003-2007)
Gary Simon Ballance (b. 1989), English first-class cricketer
Gary Ballance (b. 1984), Irish professional wrestler from Dublin who uses the ring name Bingo Ballance
John Ballance (1839-1893), Irish-born, New Zealand politician, 14th Premier of New Zealand (1891-1893)
Charles Alfred Ballance (1856-1936), English surgeon who specialized in the fields of otology and neurotology who developed Ballance's sign, the first president of the Society of British Neurological Surgeon

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/calcutta
Convict Records Australia. Retrieved on 18th March 2022 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elphinstone
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 14) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html