2000
#15,317
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,761
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.65
Rare Last name
Blaise
A French occupational surname derived from the Old French word "blaise," meaning a stammerer or stutterer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,842 Americans carry the last name Blaise. That puts it at #12,024 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.83 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 120,603 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Blaise 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 120,603
Census rank
#12,024
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,478 bearers of the surname Blaise in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.83 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12024th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Blaise, the largest self-reported group is Black at 54.2%. The next largest groups are White (37.6%) and Hispanic (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Blaise
The surname Blaise has its origins in France, specifically in the northern regions near the border with Belgium. It is believed to have emerged in the 11th or 12th century, derived from the French place name Blaise or Blasies.
This place name itself is thought to have originated from the Latin word "blasius," meaning "to stammer or lisp." It may have been used as a descriptive nickname for someone with a speech impediment before eventually becoming a surname.
Some of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Blaise can be found in medieval French records, such as the Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Saint-Père de Chartres from the 12th century, where a certain Robertus Blaisius is mentioned.
Another early reference is the Liber Censualis, a census-like document compiled in the late 13th century, which lists several individuals with the surname Blaise in various parts of northern France.
One of the earliest known bearers of this surname was Jehan Blaise, a merchant from the town of Arras in northern France, who was born around 1320 and is mentioned in local records from the mid-14th century.
In the 15th century, a notable figure with this surname was Pierre Blaise, a French scholar and philosopher who lived from around 1437 to 1510. He was a professor at the University of Paris and wrote several works on logic and metaphysics.
Another prominent individual was Gaspard Blaise, a French jurist and legal scholar who lived from 1584 to 1655. He served as a judge in the Parlement of Grenoble and published influential works on French law.
During the Renaissance period, the surname Blaise was also associated with the family of the renowned French mathematician and philosopher, Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), who was born in Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne.
In the 18th century, a notable bearer of this surname was François Blaise, a French poet and dramatist who lived from 1711 to 1786. He was a member of the Académie Française and wrote several popular plays and poems.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Blaise
Among Census respondents with the surname Blaise, the largest self-reported group is Black at 54.2%. The next largest groups are White (37.6%) and Hispanic (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Blaise 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 Blaise surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American54.2% · 1,342
- White37.6% · 932
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 103
- Two or more races2.9% · 71
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Blaise
Blaise 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
#12,812
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,407
+646 bearers (+36.7%)
Per 100,000 0.82
Rank movement Up 2,505 places
2020
#12,024
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,478
+71 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 0.83
Rank movement Up 788 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,317 | 1,761 | 0.65 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,812 | 2,407 | 0.82 | +646 bearers (+36.7%) | Up 2,505 places |
| 2020 | #12,024 | 2,478 | 0.83 | +71 bearers (+2.9%) | Up 788 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 Blaise 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 | #12,812 | #12,024 | 6.2% |
| Count | 2,407 | 2,478 | 2.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.82 | 0.83 | 1.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Blaise bearers went from 2,407 to 2,478 (+2.9% change). The surname moved up 788 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,812 to #12,024.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Blaise
FAQ
Blaise surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Blaise?
Name Census estimates that about 2,842 living Americans carry the surname Blaise. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 120,603 residents.
How common is Blaise?
Blaise ranks #12,024 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.83 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 2,478 people with the surname Blaise. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,842), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.83 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.83 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 Blaise.
Has Blaise become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Blaise went from 2,407 recorded bearers to 2,478. That is an increase of 71 (+2.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,812 to #12,024.
What does the Census say about the background of Blaise?
Among Census respondents with the surname Blaise, the largest self-reported group is Black at 54.2%. The next largest groups are White (37.6%) and Hispanic (4.2%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Blaise in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.2% (1,342 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Blaise appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (54.2%), White (37.6%), Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Blaise (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 Blaise mean?
A French occupational surname derived from the Old French word "blaise," meaning a stammerer or stutterer. 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 Blaise (0.83 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 share the surname Blaise?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.