The Blake surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 73,797 people carried this name — #447 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 4,000 people counted. That is up 7% from 69,279 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Blake surname
A surname derived from either Old English blæc (“black”) or from Old English blāc (“pale, fair, shining, white”), or as an anglicisation of Irish Ó Bláthmaic.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Blake» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890
Ireland registered 58 births for the Blake name in 1890.
They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Munster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 2,600 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Cork, Galway, Clare, Antrim, and Dublin.”
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born, 1890
Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 72 people named Blake.
32 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 16 départements, most often Pas-de-Calais.
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 Switzerland’s population statistics
63 people named Blake live in Switzerland.
They live in 9 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where 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 Argentina’s national register
At least 59 people named Blake 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 Mendoza.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
42 people named Blake 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).
In print
Blake in American newspapers,
1905–1909.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 717,565 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Blake,
with a public archive behind them.
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Lottie Isbell Blake d. 1976 · missionary -
Mark Blake d. 1886 · politician
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Benjamin Blake d. 1868 · military officer
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James "Spanish" Blake d. 1635 · merchant
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Walter Blake d. 1748 · politician
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Walter Blake d. 1758 · Catholic priest
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Blake.
- Blain 4,764 · U.S. census
- Blaire 248 · U.S. census
- Blais 5,718 · U.S. census
- Blaise 2,407 · U.S. census
- Blaising 135 · U.S. census
- Blaize 574 · U.S. census
- Blan 708 · U.S. census
- Blanc 3,352 · U.S. census
- Blanca 480 · U.S. census
- Blanch 1,813 · U.S. census
- Blanchard 37,695 · U.S. census
- Blanche 1,325 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Blake 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.