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

Blakeney, 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 Blakeney surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Blakeney in America

Blakeney is the 8070th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Blakeney surname appeared 4,107 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Blakeney.

We can also compare 2010 data for Blakeney 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 Blakeney

The surname Blakeney has its origins in England, specifically in the county of Norfolk. It is derived from the Old English words "blæc" meaning black and "ey" meaning island or watery meadow, suggesting that the name originated from a geographical location with a dark or black island or meadow.

The earliest recorded mention of the name Blakeney dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Blakeneye". This entry refers to a village in Norfolk, which is now known as Blakeney. The name has also been recorded in various other spellings throughout history, such as Blackney, Blackeney, and Blakney.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Blakeney was Sir Edward Blakeney (c. 1590-1671), an English landowner and Member of Parliament for Norfolk. In the 17th century, another notable figure was Henry Blakeney (1638-1696), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Hartsmere.

In the 18th century, William Blakeney (1672-1761) was a prominent British Army officer who served in several campaigns, including the War of the Spanish Succession and the War of the Austrian Succession. He was also appointed as the Governor of Minorca.

The 19th century saw the rise of General Sir Edward Blakeney (1778-1868), a British Army officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and later became the Governor of Chelsea Hospital. Another notable figure from this period was Robert Blakeney (1795-1868), an Irish-born Australian explorer and landowner.

In the 20th century, one of the most famous individuals with the surname Blakeney was Vivian Blakeney-Williams (1898-1955), a British Army officer and intelligence officer who served in both World War I and World War II. He was awarded the Military Cross for his bravery during World War I.

While the surname Blakeney has its roots in England, particularly in Norfolk, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including Australia, Canada, and the United States, through migration and immigration.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Blakeney

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

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 Blakeney 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 Blakeney 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 Blakeney was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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