Blakley
From an English surname meaning "black clearing" or "dark wood."
Name Census estimates that about 746 living Americans carry the first name Blakley. It is a predominantly female name (93.5% of registrations). The average person named Blakley today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Blakley births was 2021 (65 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Blakley. 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.
People living today
746
~ 1 in 459,456 Americans
Peak year
2021
65 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
1996 SSA rank
#2,747
Tracked since 1963
Census
Blakley in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 641 people with the first name Blakley, which placed it at #17,282 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
#17,282
National first-name rank
People counted
641
641 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
87.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Blakley
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Blakley is White at 87.7%. The next largest groups are Black (4.4%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Blakley 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 Blakley at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.7% · 562
- Black or African American4.4% · 28
- Two or more races3.7% · 24
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Blakley
Blakley leans heavily female at 93.5% of total registrations, but 49 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Blakley as a male name
- Ranked #7,218 in 1996
- 7 male births in 1996
- Peak: 1990 (7 births)
Blakley as a female name
- Ranked #2,747 in 2024
- 62 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (65 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Blakley leans strongly female. 536 people counted with this name were female (83.8%), compared with 104 male bearers (16.3%).
Popularity
Blakley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Blakley from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 286 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Blakley 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 Blakley during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Blakleys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. Texas, Tennessee, Indiana recorded the most babies named Blakley, while Oklahoma, Missouri, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Blakley
The name Blakley is of English origin and is derived from the Old English word "blæc," meaning "black" or "dark," and the suffix "-ley," which refers to a clearing or meadow. It likely originated as a surname, indicating someone who lived in or near a dark or black meadow or clearing.
In its earliest recorded use as a given name, Blakley can be traced back to the 13th century in England, where it was sometimes spelled as "Blakeleye" or "Blakelegh." The name gained popularity during the Middle Ages and was often associated with individuals from rural or agricultural communities.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Blakley was Sir Blakley de Neville, a knight who lived in the late 13th century and served under King Edward I of England. He was known for his participation in the Scottish Wars of Independence.
In the 15th century, a notable figure named Blakley Pynson was a renowned printer and publisher in London. He was responsible for printing some of the earliest books and manuscripts in England during the Renaissance period.
During the 16th century, Blakley Calvert was a prominent English explorer and colonist who played a significant role in establishing the colony of Maryland in North America. He was appointed as the first Lord Proprietor of the Province of Maryland by King Charles I in 1632.
In the 18th century, Blakley Whitelock was a respected English lawyer and politician who served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1765 to 1768. He was highly regarded for his commitment to parliamentary reform and his efforts to uphold the independence of the judiciary.
Another notable figure with the name Blakley was Blakley Martineau, a 19th-century English philosopher and social theorist. Born in 1802, she was a pioneering advocate for women's rights and was widely recognized for her contributions to the fields of philosophy, politics, and social reform.
Throughout history, the name Blakley has been associated with individuals from diverse backgrounds, ranging from knights and explorers to publishers, politicians, and intellectuals. While its origins can be traced back to the English countryside, the name has transcended geographical boundaries and gained recognition in various spheres of influence.
People
Blakley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Blakley 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
Blakley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Blakley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 746 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Blakley 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 459,456 US residents.
Is Blakley a common name?
We classify Blakley as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 755 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Blakley most popular?
The single biggest year for Blakley was 2021, when 65 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Blakley is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Blakley in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 641 people with the name Blakley, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,282 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 Blakley 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 Blakley?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Blakley leans strongly female. 536 people counted with this name were female (83.8%), compared with 104 male bearers (16.3%). 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 Blakley?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Blakley is White at 87.7%. The next largest groups are Black (4.4%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Blakley most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Blakley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.7% (562 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 Blakley in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Blakley a female name?
Yes, 93.5% of people registered as Blakley in the SSA data are female. 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 Blakley still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Blakley 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 Blakley 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 Blakley as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.