Find out how popular the last name Blackwood is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Blackwood.

Blackwood, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Blackwood surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Blackwood in America

Blackwood is the 4213th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Blackwood surname appeared 8,407 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Blackwood.

We can also compare 2010 data for Blackwood to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Blackwood

The surname Blackwood originated in England and Scotland during the medieval period. It is a locational surname derived from various place names containing the elements "black" and "wood," referring to a dark or dense forest or woodland area.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Blachwde" and "Blakewde." These entries likely refer to individuals who hailed from places with such names, which were common throughout England and Scotland at the time.

In the 12th century, the name appears as "de Blakewode" in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire, indicating its use as a surname by that point. The prefix "de" was commonly used to denote a person's place of origin.

Over the centuries, the name has been spelled in various ways, including Blackwood, Blackwode, Blacwode, and Blakwood, among others. These variations reflect the fluid nature of spelling during the medieval and early modern periods.

One notable figure associated with the surname was Sir John Blackwood (c. 1539-1615), a Scottish landowner and politician who served as Lord Privy Seal of Scotland under King James VI.

Another prominent individual was Sir Adam Blackwood (1674-1749), a Scottish lawyer and judge who served as Lord Justice Clerk, one of the highest judicial offices in Scotland at the time.

In the 18th century, Sir John Blackwood (1721-1779) was a British naval officer who played a significant role in several battles during the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War.

The name Blackwood has also been associated with literary figures, such as Algernon Blackwood (1869-1951), an English short story writer and novelist known for his supernatural fiction.

Additionally, William Blackwood (1776-1834) was a notable Scottish publisher and the founder of Blackwood's Magazine, a leading literary periodical of the 19th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Blackwood

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Blackwood.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Blackwood was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Blackwood has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Blackwood was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Blackwood, please contact us.

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