2010
#160,975
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Blankumsee
A locational surname derived from a German place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Blankumsee. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Blankumsee 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Blankumsee in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Blankumsee, the largest self-reported group is Black at 92.7%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (2.7%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Blankumsee
The surname BLANKUMSEE has its origins in the German-speaking regions of Europe, with the earliest recorded instances dating back to the 13th century. Linguists trace the name's roots to Old High German words, possibly stemming from a combination of "blank" (meaning white or pale) and "um" (a prefix denoting a location), suggesting it may have referred to a person residing near a pale or white landscape feature.
Historical records indicate that the name BLANKUMSEE first appeared in the regions of modern-day Germany and Switzerland, particularly in areas near the Rhine River. Variations in spelling, such as Blankhameser and Blankamsee, can be found in medieval documents and local records from the 14th and 15th centuries.
One of the earliest known references to the BLANKUMSEE name comes from a 1387 entry in the town records of Bern, Switzerland, which mentions a Hans Blankumsee as a landowner. Additionally, a 1492 manuscript from the Duchy of Saxony lists a Wilhelm Blankumse among the local nobility.
Notable individuals bearing the BLANKUMSEE surname include the 16th-century scholar and theologian Johann Blankumsee (1523-1587), who taught at the University of Wittenberg and was a contemporary of Martin Luther. In the 18th century, Karl Friedrich Blankumsee (1712-1789) was a renowned architect and engineer, responsible for the design of several churches and public buildings in the German states.
The 19th century saw the rise of the industrialist and philanthropist Heinrich Blankumsee (1834-1912), whose textile mills provided employment for thousands and whose charitable foundations supported education and healthcare initiatives. Another notable figure was the artist and illustrator Elsa Blankumsee (1867-1942), whose works captured the landscapes and traditions of rural Germany.
In the realm of literature, the BLANKUMSEE name is associated with the poet and novelist Oskar Blankumsee (1896-1972), whose works explored themes of identity, war, and the human condition. His novels, such as "The Pale Horizon" and "Echoes of the Rhine," garnered critical acclaim and established him as a prominent voice in 20th-century German literature.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Blankumsee
Among Census respondents with the surname Blankumsee, the largest self-reported group is Black at 92.7%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (2.7%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Blankumsee 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 Blankumsee surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American92.7% · 102
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.7% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
- White0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Blankumsee
Blankumsee appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
+10 bearers (+10.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 11,529 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #160,975 | 100 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | +10 bearers (+10.0%) | Up 11,529 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 Blankumsee 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 | #160,975 | #149,446 | 7.2% |
| Count | 100 | 110 | 10.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 22.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Blankumsee bearers went from 100 to 110 (+10.0% change). The surname moved up 11,529 positions in the national ranking, going from #160,975 to #149,446.
FAQ
Blankumsee surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Blankumsee?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Blankumsee. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Blankumsee?
Blankumsee ranks #149,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 110 people with the surname Blankumsee. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Blankumsee.
Has Blankumsee become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Blankumsee went from 100 recorded bearers to 110. That is an increase of 10 (+10.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #160,975 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Blankumsee?
Among Census respondents with the surname Blankumsee, the largest self-reported group is Black at 92.7%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (2.7%) and Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Blankumsee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Blankumsee appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (92.7%), American Indian/Alaska Native (2.7%), Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Blankumsee (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 Blankumsee mean?
A locational surname derived from a German place name. 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 Blankumsee (0.04 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 are called Blankumsee?
Want to know how many people have the last name Blankumsee? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.