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

Bleach, 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 Bleach surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bleach in America

Bleach is the 103181st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bleach surname appeared 174 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Bleach.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bleach 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 Bleach

The surname Bleach is believed to have originated from the Anglo-Saxon word 'blaecan', which means to whiten or bleach. It is an occupational surname, indicating that the original bearer was likely involved in the bleaching or whitening of cloth or other materials. The name is most commonly found in England, particularly in the counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire.

The earliest recorded instance of the surname Bleach can be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as 'Blæcere'. This entry suggests that the name was already in use during the 11th century in England. Over time, the spelling evolved to 'Blecher', 'Blechere', and eventually 'Bleach'.

One notable early bearer of the surname was John Bleche, who was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1219. Another early reference is found in the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire from 1273, which mentions a William Blecher.

In the 16th century, the surname Bleach was particularly prevalent in the town of Rochdale, Lancashire. Several members of the Bleach family held prominent positions in the local community, including John Bleach, who served as a churchwarden in 1586, and Robert Bleach, who was a constable in 1620.

A famous bearer of the surname was William Bleach (1690-1768), an English clergyman and author. He was a Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and published several works on theology and philosophy.

Another notable figure was John Bleach (1772-1846), an English landscape painter who was renowned for his depictions of rural scenes and coastal landscapes.

In the 19th century, Joseph Bleach (1816-1892) was a prominent industrialist in Manchester, England. He founded the Bleach and Company textile mill, which played a significant role in the city's industrial development.

Further examples of historical figures with the surname Bleach include Thomas Bleach (1836-1907), a British architect who designed several notable buildings in London, and Emily Bleach (1868-1944), an Australian activist and campaigner for women's rights.

While the surname Bleach is not exceptionally rare, it has a rich history and strong ties to various occupations, particularly in the textile industry, reflecting the name's occupational origins.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bleach

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!