2000
#5,643
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,642
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.09
Rare Last name
Blakley
A locational surname derived from any of the various places named Blakeley or Blakely, meaning "dark wood" or "dark clearing."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,419 Americans carry the last name Blakley. That puts it at #5,928 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.87 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 53,397 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Blakley 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Blakley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.4K
1 in 53,397
Census rank
#5,928
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,598 bearers of the surname Blakley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.87 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5928th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Blakley, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.3%. The next largest groups are Black (16.4%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Blakley
The surname Blakley originates from England, with its earliest known bearers residing in the northern counties. It is derived from the Old English words "blæc" meaning black and "leah" meaning a meadow or clearing in a woodland. The name likely refers to a person who lived near a dark or shaded meadow.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landholders in England after the Norman Conquest, the name appears as "Blachelie" and "Blakeleye." These early spelling variations highlight the name's development from its Old English roots.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Robert de Blakeley, who was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Lancashire in 1199. The Pipe Rolls were financial records maintained by the English Exchequer.
During the 13th century, the name was associated with several landholdings and manors in Lancashire and Yorkshire. For instance, the Blakeley family held lands in Blackley, a township in the parish of Manchester, which likely influenced the spelling of their surname.
In the 14th century, John Blakley was listed as a landowner in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of Westmorland in 1332. These rolls were tax records maintained by the English government.
Notable individuals with the surname Blakley include:
1. William Blakley (c. 1620 - 1692), an English Puritan minister who emigrated to New England and served as the second president of Harvard College from 1672 to 1675.
2. Samuel Blakley (1783 - 1860), an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania from 1833 to 1837.
3. Charles Blakley (1856 - 1925), an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Lancashire County Cricket Club in the late 19th century.
4. Mary Blakley (1879 - 1957), an American poet and author, known for her works exploring the experiences of women in the early 20th century.
5. Thomas Blakley (1915 - 1976), an American mathematician and cryptographer who co-invented the concept of secret sharing, a fundamental principle in modern cryptography.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Blakley
Among Census respondents with the surname Blakley, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.3%. The next largest groups are Black (16.4%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Blakley 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 Blakley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.3% · 4,162
- Black or African American16.4% · 917
- Two or more races4.9% · 275
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 157
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 59
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 28
Timeline
Historical Census data for Blakley
Blakley 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
#5,855
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,898
+256 bearers (+4.5%)
Per 100,000 2.00
Rank movement Down 212 places
2020
#5,928
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,598
-300 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 1.87
Rank movement Down 73 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,643 | 5,642 | 2.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,855 | 5,898 | 2.00 | +256 bearers (+4.5%) | Down 212 places |
| 2020 | #5,928 | 5,598 | 1.87 | -300 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 73 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 Blakley 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 | #5,855 | #5,928 | -1.2% |
| Count | 5,898 | 5,598 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 2.00 | 1.87 | -6.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Blakley bearers went from 5,898 to 5,598 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 73 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,855 to #5,928.
FAQ
Blakley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Blakley?
Name Census estimates that about 6,419 living Americans carry the surname Blakley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 53,397 residents.
How common is Blakley?
Blakley ranks #5,928 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.87 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 5,598 people with the surname Blakley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,419), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.87 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.87 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 Blakley.
Has Blakley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Blakley went from 5,898 recorded bearers to 5,598. That is a decrease of 300 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,855 to #5,928.
What does the Census say about the background of Blakley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Blakley, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.3%. The next largest groups are Black (16.4%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Blakley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.3% (4,162 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Blakley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.3%), Black (16.4%), Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Blakley (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 Blakley mean?
A locational surname derived from any of the various places named Blakeley or Blakely, meaning "dark wood" or "dark clearing." 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 Blakley (1.87 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 Blakley?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.