The Blanks surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,229 people carried this name — #5,578 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 47,400 people counted. That is up 5% from 5,956 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Blanks surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley explains it as ‘The son of Blanch’.

His entry covers Blanks and Blankson.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 109 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

27 families named Blanks, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 113 people lived in those households, 4.2 to a family on average. The table counts it together with one other spelling. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Virginia 9
New York 8
Pennsylvania 5
North Carolina 3
South Carolina 2

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 230 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Blanks in American newspapers,
1906–1924.

Newspaper page from Evening Star carrying the name Blanks
Evening Star 1906-07-26
Newspaper page from The Washington Times carrying the name Blanks
The Washington Times 1924-05-20

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Blanks in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1980s.

1,832 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Blanks. The most, 419, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Tasmania, at 3.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 673
South Australia 330
Tasmania 327
Victoria 317
Queensland 128
Western Australia 48
ACT (Canberra) 6

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Blanks.

Who carried it

People named Blanks,
with a public archive behind them.

  • William D. Blanks
    William D. Blanks 1864–1921 · politician
  • Ernests Blanks 1894–1972 · writer
  • Ernests Blanks 1894–1972 · writer
  • Tim Blanks 1901– · television presenter
  • Louise Cochrane 1916–2015 · benefactor
  • Sid Blanks 1940–2021 · American football player

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Blanks,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States345 records

345 records of the Blanks name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 204
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 88
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 32
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 9
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 5
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 3
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Clinton Blanks

    Born 1905 in Maryland. Enlisted 1942 at Baltimore; driver from Baltimore City. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1961, buried at Baltimore National Cemetery, Maryland.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Thomas Lee Blanks

    Born 1948; from Riverdale, Georgia. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1970 in Quang Ngai, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Blanks

    Arrived at New York in 1867 aboard the City of London from Liverpool, aged 36; merchant.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 345 records for Blanks in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia71 records

71 records of the Blanks name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 28
  • Tasmanian Names Index 22
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 13
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 6
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 1
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 1
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Harold Blanks

    Died 1922 in Margate, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1922.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Emma Blanks

    Arrived in Victoria in 1912 aboard the Friedrich der Grosse, aged 50.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Isabel Blanks

    Died 1903 in Ringarooma, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 71 records for Blanks in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Netherlands6 records

6 records of the Blanks name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 3
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 2
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Lena Blanks

    Buried in 1785 in Leeuwarden.

    Open Archives, AlleFriezen (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Henricus Blanks

    Baptised in 1741 in Rotterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Trijntje Blanks

    In the population register of Tietjerksteradeel.

    Open Archives, AlleFriezen (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 6 records for Blanks in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

United Kingdom5 records

5 records of the Blanks name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record A. Blanks

    Royal Flying Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record H. Blanks

    Gunner, Royal Field Artillery. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 2 of 5 records for Blanks in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Canada1 record

1 record of the Blanks name in Canada Canadian Virtual War Memorial
  1. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Percy Harry Blanks

    Died in service in 1918.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Counts: Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Blanks.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Blanks 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.

See the Blanks volume
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