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

Blanc, 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 Blanc surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Blanc in America

Blanc is the 9684th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Blanc surname appeared 3,352 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 Blanc.

We can also compare 2010 data for Blanc 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 Blanc

The surname Blanc originated in France and is a French word meaning "white". It derived from the Old French word "blanc", which in turn came from the Frankish word "blank", meaning "white" or "bright". The name Blanc was initially given as a nickname or descriptive name to someone with fair hair or pale complexion.

The earliest known record of the surname Blanc dates back to the 12th century in Normandy, France. One of the earliest documented instances is found in a charter from 1195, which mentions a person named Willelmus Blanc, or William the White.

In the famous Domesday Book, a record of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, there are several entries for people with the surname Blanc or similar spellings, such as Blancus or Blanchart.

During the Middle Ages, the surname Blanc was particularly prevalent in the regions of Normandy, Brittany, and Île-de-France in northern France. It was also found in other parts of the country, including Burgundy and Provence.

Notable individuals with the surname Blanc throughout history include:

1. Jean Blanc (c. 1380-1456), a French merchant and financier who served as the Mayor of Paris.
2. Claudine Blanc (1545-1608), a French midwife and author of one of the earliest works on midwifery.
3. Michel Blanc (1615-1684), a French painter known for his religious works and portraits.
4. Louis Blanc (1811-1882), a French politician, historian, and socialist philosopher who influenced the revolutionary movements of 1848.
5. Marcel Blanc (1892-1984), a French architect known for his Art Deco designs, including the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-la-Route in Paris.

Over time, the surname Blanc spread to other countries, particularly through French emigration and colonization. It can be found in various spellings, such as Blanco in Spain and Portuguese-speaking countries, and White in English-speaking regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Blanc

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

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

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

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