Blake
A masculine English name derived from an Old English surname meaning "bright, yellow-haired".
Name Census estimates that about 198,033 living Americans carry the first name Blake. It sits at #210 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It is a predominantly male name (90.7% of registrations). The average person named Blake today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Blake births was 2012 (6,450 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Blake. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Blake with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
198K
~ 1 in 1,731 Americans
Peak year
2012
6,450 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2024 SSA rank
#210
Tracked since 1883
Census
Blake in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 173,524 people with the first name Blake, which placed it at #319 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#319
National first-name rank
People counted
174K
173,524 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
57.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
84.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Blake
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Blake is White at 84.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Blake described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Blake at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.1% · 145,865
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 9,088
- Two or more races4.5% · 7,861
- Black or African American4.5% · 7,852
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1,610
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1,248
Gender
Gender distribution for Blake
Blake leans heavily male at 90.7% of total registrations, but 19,024 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Blake as a male name
- Ranked #265 in 2024
- 1,311 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2012 (6,047 births)
Blake as a female name
- Ranked #210 in 2024
- 1,457 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (1,502 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Blake leans strongly male. 162,125 people counted with this name were male (93.4%), compared with 11,399 female bearers (6.6%).
Popularity
Blake: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Blake from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 51,447 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Blake by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Blake during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Blakes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Blake, while Vermont, District of Columbia, New Mexico recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 3,905 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Blake
The name Blake has its origins in the Old English language and is derived from the word "blæc," which means "black" or "dark-haired." It was initially used as a nickname or surname to describe someone with dark hair or a swarthy complexion.
In the early Middle Ages, the name emerged as a given name, particularly in England and other parts of the British Isles. The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 12th century, with individuals like Blake de Novers, who was mentioned in records from Oxfordshire in 1195.
Throughout history, the name Blake has been associated with various notable figures. One of the most prominent individuals bearing this name was William Blake, the renowned English poet, painter, and printmaker, who lived from 1757 to 1827. His works, such as "Songs of Innocence and Experience," have had a lasting impact on literature and art.
Another notable figure was Robert Blake, an English admiral who played a crucial role in the English Civil War and served as a commander of the Commonwealth naval forces during the 17th century. He was born in 1598 and died in 1657.
In the realm of sports, Blake Bortles, an American football quarterback, gained recognition for his time with the Jacksonville Jaguars in the National Football League (NFL). He was born in 1992 and played professionally from 2014 to 2020.
Blake Edwards, the acclaimed American film director, writer, and producer, is also a noteworthy bearer of this name. He was responsible for iconic films such as "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and the "Pink Panther" series. Edwards was born in 1922 and passed away in 2010.
Blake Lively, an American actress known for her roles in films like "Gossip Girl" and "The Age of Adaline," has helped to popularize the name in recent times. She was born in 1987 and continues to have a successful career in the entertainment industry.
While the name Blake has evolved and gained popularity over time, it remains rooted in its Old English origins, reflecting a connection to the idea of darkness or dark-haired individuals. Its historical significance and association with notable figures across various fields have contributed to its enduring appeal.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Blake
People
Blake + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Blake as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Blake: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Blake?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 198,033 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Blake going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,731 US residents.
Is Blake a common name?
We classify Blake as "Common". It ranks above 99.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 204,479 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Blake most popular?
The single biggest year for Blake was 2012, when 6,450 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Blake is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Blake in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 173,524 people with the name Blake, or 57.45 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #319 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Blake in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Blake?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Blake leans strongly male. 162,125 people counted with this name were male (93.4%), compared with 11,399 female bearers (6.6%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Blake?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Blake is White at 84.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Blake most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Blake in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.1% (145,865 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Blake in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Blake a male name?
Yes, 90.7% of people registered as Blake in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Blake still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Blake in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Blake can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Blake?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Blake, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.