2000
#11,356
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,548
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.94
Rare Last name
Blazer
An occupational surname for a person who made or sold blazers, a type of jacket.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,812 Americans carry the last name Blazer. That puts it at #12,133 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.82 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 121,890 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Blazer 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
2.8K
1 in 121,890
Census rank
#12,133
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,452 bearers of the surname Blazer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.82 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12133rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Blazer, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Blazer
The surname Blazer is believed to have originated in England, with the earliest recorded instances dating back to the 16th century. It is thought to be an occupational name derived from the Middle English word "blaze," which referred to a white marking or blaze on the face of an animal, particularly a horse. This suggests that the name may have initially been given to someone who was responsible for marking or branding animals.
The name Blazer is closely related to the German surname Blaser, which also stems from the same occupational root. Some early records indicate that the surname Blazer may have been associated with the town of Blaser in Normandy, France, suggesting a possible connection to the Norman conquest of England.
One of the earliest documented references to the name Blazer can be found in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, where a John Blazer is mentioned in 1586. Additionally, the Subsidy Rolls of 1628 for Warwickshire list a Thomas Blazer as a resident of the county.
In the 17th century, the name Blazer appears in various historical records, including the Hearth Tax Rolls of 1662 for Gloucestershire, which lists a Robert Blazer as a taxpayer. The Protestation Returns of 1641 for Oxfordshire also mention a John Blazer, indicating the presence of the surname in that region.
Notable individuals with the surname Blazer include:
1. William Blazer (1620-1688), an English landowner and businessman from Dorset.
2. Elizabeth Blazer (1675-1741), a prominent Quaker writer and activist from Pennsylvania.
3. John Blazer (1742-1817), a British military officer who served in the American Revolutionary War.
4. Samuel Blazer (1789-1862), an American politician who served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates.
5. Mary Blazer (1832-1901), a renowned English painter and illustrator known for her landscape works.
While the surname Blazer may have originated from an occupational connection, it has since evolved and been carried by individuals across various professions and walks of life throughout history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Blazer
Among Census respondents with the surname Blazer, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Blazer 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 Blazer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.5% · 2,219
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 77
- Two or more races2.9% · 71
- Black or African American2.4% · 60
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Blazer
Blazer 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
#11,368
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,775
+227 bearers (+8.9%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Down 12 places
2020
#12,133
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,452
-323 bearers (-11.6%)
Per 100,000 0.82
Rank movement Down 765 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,356 | 2,548 | 0.94 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,368 | 2,775 | 0.94 | +227 bearers (+8.9%) | Down 12 places |
| 2020 | #12,133 | 2,452 | 0.82 | -323 bearers (-11.6%) | Down 765 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 Blazer 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 | #11,368 | #12,133 | -6.7% |
| Count | 2,775 | 2,452 | -11.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.94 | 0.82 | -12.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Blazer bearers went from 2,775 to 2,452 (-11.6% change). The surname moved down 765 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,368 to #12,133.
FAQ
Blazer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Blazer?
Name Census estimates that about 2,812 living Americans carry the surname Blazer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 121,890 residents.
How common is Blazer?
Blazer ranks #12,133 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.82 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 2,452 people with the surname Blazer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,812), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.82 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.82 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 Blazer.
Has Blazer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Blazer went from 2,775 recorded bearers to 2,452. That is a decrease of 323 (-11.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,368 to #12,133.
What does the Census say about the background of Blazer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Blazer, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Blazer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.5% (2,219 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Blazer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.5%), Hispanic (3.1%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Blazer (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 Blazer mean?
An occupational surname for a person who made or sold blazers, a type of jacket. 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 Blazer (0.82 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 Americans have the surname Blazer?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.