2000
#9,348
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,199
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.19
Rare Last name
Blakeslee
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "dark wood" or "black clearing" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,428 Americans carry the last name Blakeslee. That puts it at #10,256 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 99,987 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Blakeslee 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
3.4K
1 in 99,987
Census rank
#10,256
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,989 bearers of the surname Blakeslee in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10256th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Blakeslee, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Blakeslee
The surname Blakeslee is of English origin and dates back to the 11th century. It is derived from the Old English words "blæc" meaning "black" and "leah" meaning "a clearing or meadow." The name likely referred to someone who lived near a dark-colored meadow or woodland area.
Blakeslee is a locational surname, meaning it was originally taken from the name of a specific place. In this case, it is believed to have originated from the village of Blacksley in Worcestershire, England. The earliest recorded spelling of this place name was Blakesleye in the Domesday Book of 1086.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Blakeslee surname itself can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire from the year 1177, where it was spelled as "Blakeslegh." Other early spellings include Blakesleye, Blakeslie, and Blakesly.
Notable individuals with the surname Blakeslee throughout history include:
1. John Blakeslee (1572-1647), an early settler of Hartford, Connecticut, who arrived in America from England in the 1630s.
2. Gideon Blakeslee (1627-1708), an American colonial soldier and landowner in Stratford, Connecticut.
3. Solomon Blakeslee (1759-1839), a farmer and Revolutionary War soldier from Connecticut.
4. Epher Whitaker Blakeslee (1805-1878), an American inventor and manufacturer of agricultural machinery.
5. Walter Lines Blakeslee (1869-1933), an American botanist and professor at the Connecticut Agricultural College (now the University of Connecticut).
While the Blakeslee surname is predominantly found in the United States, with a concentration in New England due to the early colonial settlers, it also has a presence in other English-speaking countries like Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, likely due to later emigration.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Blakeslee
Among Census respondents with the surname Blakeslee, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Blakeslee 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 Blakeslee surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.8% · 2,745
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 100
- Two or more races3.1% · 93
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 30
- Black or African American0.4% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Blakeslee
Blakeslee 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
#9,165
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,561
+362 bearers (+11.3%)
Per 100,000 1.21
Rank movement Up 183 places
2020
#10,256
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,989
-572 bearers (-16.1%)
Per 100,000 1.00
Rank movement Down 1,091 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,348 | 3,199 | 1.19 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,165 | 3,561 | 1.21 | +362 bearers (+11.3%) | Up 183 places |
| 2020 | #10,256 | 2,989 | 1.00 | -572 bearers (-16.1%) | Down 1,091 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 Blakeslee 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 | #9,165 | #10,256 | -11.9% |
| Count | 3,561 | 2,989 | -16.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.21 | 1.00 | -17.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Blakeslee bearers went from 3,561 to 2,989 (-16.1% change). The surname moved down 1,091 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,165 to #10,256.
FAQ
Blakeslee surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Blakeslee?
Name Census estimates that about 3,428 living Americans carry the surname Blakeslee. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 99,987 residents.
How common is Blakeslee?
Blakeslee ranks #10,256 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.00 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 2,989 people with the surname Blakeslee. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,428), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.00 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 Blakeslee.
Has Blakeslee become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Blakeslee went from 3,561 recorded bearers to 2,989. That is a decrease of 572 (-16.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,165 to #10,256.
What does the Census say about the background of Blakeslee?
Among Census respondents with the surname Blakeslee, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Blakeslee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.8% (2,745 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Blakeslee appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.8%), Hispanic (3.3%), Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Blakeslee (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 Blakeslee mean?
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "dark wood" or "black clearing" in Old English. 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 Blakeslee (1.00 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 surname Blakeslee?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.