2000
#10,876
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,687
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.00
Rare Last name
Blackwelder
An occupational surname referring to a welder who works with iron or black metals.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,821 Americans carry the last name Blackwelder. That puts it at #12,096 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.82 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 121,501 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Blackwelder surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.8K
1 in 121,501
Census rank
#12,096
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,460 bearers of the surname Blackwelder in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.82 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12096th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Blackwelder, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Blackwelder
The surname Blackwelder has its origins in Germany, where it first emerged in the 14th century. It is derived from the German words "schwarz" meaning black and "walden" meaning to rule over or govern. The name likely referred to a person who worked as a forester or who lived near a heavily wooded area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Blackwelder can be found in the municipal records of the city of Nuremberg in 1389, where a Hans Blackwelder is mentioned as a resident. Around the same time period, the name also appears in various other German cities and towns, with slightly different spellings such as Schwarzwalder and Schwarzwaelder.
During the late 15th century, the Blackwelder family is believed to have spread to other parts of Europe, including the Netherlands and Switzerland. In the 16th century, some members of the family migrated to England, where the name was anglicized to Blackwelder.
One notable Blackwelder from this period was Johann Blackwelder, a German artist and engraver who lived from 1522 to 1586. His intricate woodcuts and etchings depicting religious scenes and allegorical figures were highly prized during his lifetime.
Another early bearer of the name was Hans Blackwelder, a Swiss mercenary who fought in the Thirty Years' War from 1618 to 1648. He is mentioned in several military records and chronicles of the time for his bravery on the battlefield.
In the 17th century, a branch of the Blackwelder family settled in the German city of Heidelberg, where they became prominent merchants and traders. One member of this family, Heinrich Blackwelder (1632-1701), is recorded as having been a respected alderman and civic leader in the city.
As the Blackwelder name spread across Europe, it also began to appear in various place names and toponyms. For example, the village of Schwarzwalddorf in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, is believed to have been named after a Blackwelder family that lived in the area.
By the 18th and 19th centuries, the Blackwelder surname had become well-established in various parts of Europe and North America, with descendants of the original German families continuing to carry on the name and its rich historical legacy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Blackwelder
Among Census respondents with the surname Blackwelder, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Blackwelder bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Blackwelder surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 2,268
- Two or more races3.3% · 80
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 69
- Black or African American1.0% · 24
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Blackwelder
Blackwelder appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#12,017
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,598
-89 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Down 1,141 places
2020
#12,096
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,460
-138 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 0.82
Rank movement Down 79 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,876 | 2,687 | 1.00 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,017 | 2,598 | 0.88 | -89 bearers (-3.3%) | Down 1,141 places |
| 2020 | #12,096 | 2,460 | 0.82 | -138 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 79 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Blackwelder surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #12,017 | #12,096 | -0.7% |
| Count | 2,598 | 2,460 | -5.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.88 | 0.82 | -6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Blackwelder bearers went from 2,598 to 2,460 (-5.3% change). The surname moved down 79 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,017 to #12,096.
FAQ
Blackwelder surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Blackwelder?
Name Census estimates that about 2,821 living Americans carry the surname Blackwelder. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 121,501 residents.
How common is Blackwelder?
Blackwelder ranks #12,096 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.82 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,460 people with the surname Blackwelder. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,821), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.82 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.82 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Blackwelder.
Has Blackwelder become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Blackwelder went from 2,598 recorded bearers to 2,460. That is a decrease of 138 (-5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,017 to #12,096.
What does the Census say about the background of Blackwelder?
Among Census respondents with the surname Blackwelder, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Blackwelder in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (2,268 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Blackwelder appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Two or More Races (3.3%), Hispanic (2.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Blackwelder (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Blackwelder mean?
An occupational surname referring to a welder who works with iron or black metals. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Blackwelder (0.82 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Blackwelder?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.