2000
#5,798
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,463
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.03
Rare Last name
Blais
A French habitational surname referring to someone living near a wheat field or pasture.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,234 Americans carry the last name Blais. That puts it at #6,071 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.82 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 54,981 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Blais 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
6.2K
1 in 54,981
Census rank
#6,071
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,436 bearers of the surname Blais in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.82 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6071st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Blais, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Blais
The surname Blais originated in France and is derived from the Old French word "blays" or "blesie," which means "light-colored" or "pale." It is believed to have emerged as a descriptive nickname for someone with pale or fair complexion.
The name Blais can be traced back to the 12th century in regions like Normandy, Brittany, and Île-de-France. It is closely related to other French surnames such as Blaise, Blaize, and Bleys, which share a similar root and meaning.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Blais can be found in the Domesday Book, a famous manuscript commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The entry refers to a landowner named Blays in the county of Gloucestershire, England.
In the 13th century, a notable figure named Jean Blais was a prominent merchant and landowner in the city of Paris. He is mentioned in several historical records from that period, including property deeds and trade documents.
During the 16th century, a French explorer named Jacques Blais played a significant role in the exploration and settlement of the Canadian province of Québec. He is recognized as one of the early pioneers who helped establish French colonies in North America.
In the late 17th century, a French soldier and nobleman named Louis-Henri de Blais served in the armies of King Louis XIV. He fought in several major battles during the Nine Years' War and later became a celebrated military commander.
Another prominent individual with the surname Blais was Jean-Baptiste Blais, a renowned 18th-century French architect and urban planner. He designed several notable buildings and public spaces in Paris, including the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) and the Place de la Concorde.
Throughout history, the surname Blais has also been associated with various place names in France, such as Blaise-Haute and Blaise-Basse in the Haute-Saône region, as well as the village of Blais in the department of Calvados.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Blais
Among Census respondents with the surname Blais, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Blais 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 Blais surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.5% · 5,083
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 136
- Two or more races2.4% · 133
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 45
- Black or African American0.4% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Blais
Blais 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
#6,017
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,718
+255 bearers (+4.7%)
Per 100,000 1.94
Rank movement Down 219 places
2020
#6,071
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,436
-282 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 1.82
Rank movement Down 54 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,798 | 5,463 | 2.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,017 | 5,718 | 1.94 | +255 bearers (+4.7%) | Down 219 places |
| 2020 | #6,071 | 5,436 | 1.82 | -282 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 54 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 Blais 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 | #6,017 | #6,071 | -0.9% |
| Count | 5,718 | 5,436 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.94 | 1.82 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Blais bearers went from 5,718 to 5,436 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 54 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,017 to #6,071.
FAQ
Blais surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Blais?
Name Census estimates that about 6,234 living Americans carry the surname Blais. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 54,981 residents.
How common is Blais?
Blais ranks #6,071 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.82 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,436 people with the surname Blais. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,234), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.82 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.82 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Blais.
Has Blais become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Blais went from 5,718 recorded bearers to 5,436. That is a decrease of 282 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,017 to #6,071.
What does the Census say about the background of Blais?
Among Census respondents with the surname Blais, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Blais in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (5,083 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Blais appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.5%), Hispanic (2.5%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Blais (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 Blais mean?
A French habitational surname referring to someone living near a wheat field or pasture. 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 Blais (1.82 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 people have the last name Blais?
Want to know how many people have the last name Blais? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.