2000
#673
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 46,495
First available Census row
Per 100,000 17.24
Uncommon Last name
Blackwell
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near a dark spring or stream.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 51,271 Americans carry the last name Blackwell. That puts it at #759 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 14.96 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 6,685 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Blackwell 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Blackwell with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
51K
1 in 6,685
Census rank
#759
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
15.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
45K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 44,711 bearers of the surname Blackwell in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 14.96 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 759th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Blackwell, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.8%. The next largest groups are Black (27.3%) and Two or More Races (5.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Blackwell
The surname Blackwell has its origins in England, emerging in the late 11th century during the Norman conquest of Britain. The name is derived from the Old English words "blæc" meaning black and "well" meaning a spring or stream, likely referring to a dark-colored body of water near where the first bearers lived.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, with entries for individuals bearing the surname Blackwell in various counties across England, including Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Buckinghamshire. These early mentions suggest the name was already well-established in different regions of the country by the late 11th century.
The first recorded individual with the surname Blackwell was Robert Blackwell, who was born in 1125 in Derbyshire, England. Another notable early bearer was Sir John Blackwell, a prominent landowner and knight who lived in Somerset in the late 13th century.
Throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance period, the Blackwell surname continued to spread across England, with various spellings appearing in historical records, such as Blakwell, Blacqwell, and Blaccwelle. Certain branches of the family adopted the name as a reference to their place of residence, leading to variants like Blackwell of Derbyshire and Blackwell of Yorkshire.
In the 16th century, George Blackwell, born in 1545 in Oxfordshire, became a renowned scholar and theologian, serving as the Principal of St. Alban Hall at the University of Oxford. Another notable figure was Thomas Blackwell, a Scottish writer and classical scholar born in 1701, who published influential works on Greek literature and mythology.
During the 18th century, Sir Lambert Blackwell, born in 1720 in Kent, gained prominence as a successful merchant and politician, serving as a Member of Parliament and Lord Mayor of London. Alongside him, Elizabeth Blackwell, born in 1707 in Bristol, made significant contributions as a pioneering botanist and author of the influential work "A Curious Herbal."
As the centuries progressed, the Blackwell surname continued to be associated with various notable individuals across various fields, including politics, academia, and the arts, solidifying its legacy as a prominent English surname with deep historical roots.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Blackwell
Among Census respondents with the surname Blackwell, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.8%. The next largest groups are Black (27.3%) and Two or More Races (5.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Blackwell 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 Blackwell surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.8% · 28,073
- Black or African American27.3% · 12,210
- Two or more races5.5% · 2,475
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 1,421
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 321
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 211
Timeline
Historical Census data for Blackwell
Blackwell 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
#741
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 47,175
+680 bearers (+1.5%)
Per 100,000 15.99
Rank movement Down 68 places
2020
#759
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 44,711
-2,464 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 14.96
Rank movement Down 18 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #673 | 46,495 | 17.24 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #741 | 47,175 | 15.99 | +680 bearers (+1.5%) | Down 68 places |
| 2020 | #759 | 44,711 | 14.96 | -2,464 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 18 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 Blackwell 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 | #741 | #759 | -2.4% |
| Count | 47,175 | 44,711 | -5.2% |
| Per 100K | 15.99 | 14.96 | -6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Blackwell bearers went from 47,175 to 44,711 (-5.2% change). The surname moved down 18 positions in the national ranking, going from #741 to #759.
FAQ
Blackwell surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Blackwell?
Name Census estimates that about 51,271 living Americans carry the surname Blackwell. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 6,685 residents.
How common is Blackwell?
Blackwell ranks #759 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 14.96 per 100,000 residents, which is about 15 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 44,711 people with the surname Blackwell. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (51,271), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 14.96 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 14.96 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 15 of them to have the surname Blackwell.
Has Blackwell become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Blackwell went from 47,175 recorded bearers to 44,711. That is a decrease of 2,464 (-5.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #741 to #759.
What does the Census say about the background of Blackwell?
Among Census respondents with the surname Blackwell, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.8%. The next largest groups are Black (27.3%) and Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Blackwell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.8% (28,073 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Blackwell appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (62.8%), Black (27.3%), Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Blackwell (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 Blackwell mean?
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near a dark spring or stream. 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 Blackwell (14.96 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 people are called Blackwell?
For a quick modern take, check how common the surname Blackwell is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.