2000
#1,841
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,934
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.65
Uncommon Last name
Bledsoe
An English locational surname derived from a place name meaning "dark pool" or "dark spring" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 20,194 Americans carry the last name Bledsoe. That puts it at #2,005 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.89 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 16,973 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bledsoe 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
20K
1 in 16,973
Census rank
#2,005
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
18K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 17,610 bearers of the surname Bledsoe in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.89 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2005th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bledsoe, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.0%. The next largest groups are Black (19.9%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bledsoe
The surname Bledsoe is of English origin, derived from a place name meaning 'Blead's hill' or 'Blead's slope' in Old English. The name is thought to have originated in the county of Staffordshire, England, during the Anglo-Saxon period, around the 5th to 11th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bledsoe appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey commissioned by William the Conqueror. The entry mentions a landowner named Blaedsuuine, which is believed to be an early variant spelling of the surname.
In the 13th century, records show the surname spelled as Bledshowe and Bladeshaw, which were likely place names referring to settlements in Staffordshire. During this time, the Bledsoe family was known to have holdings in the villages of Bloxwich and Essington.
Sir William Bledsoe (c. 1390-1457) was a prominent figure in the Wars of the Roses, serving as a military commander under the House of Lancaster. He was knighted for his valor in the Battle of Towton in 1461.
Another notable figure was John Bledsoe (1580-1642), a merchant and alderman in the city of London. He was a member of the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers and served as Sheriff of London in 1630.
In the 17th century, several members of the Bledsoe family were among the early settlers in the British colonies of North America. Abraham Bledsoe (1619-1687) was one of the first to arrive in Virginia, establishing a plantation in what is now Stafford County.
Isaac Bledsoe (1735-1793) was an American Revolutionary War soldier and frontiersman. He was one of the founders of Bledsoe's Station, an early settlement in what is now Sumner County, Tennessee.
Jesse Bledsoe (1776-1857) was a prominent lawyer and politician from Kentucky. He served as the Secretary of State for Kentucky and as a United States Senator from 1813 to 1819.
The Bledsoe name has been associated with various place names throughout history, including Bledsoe County in Tennessee, named after the pioneer Isaac Bledsoe, and the town of Bledsoe, Texas, named after Jesse Bledsoe.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bledsoe
Among Census respondents with the surname Bledsoe, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.0%. The next largest groups are Black (19.9%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Bledsoe 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 Bledsoe surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.0% · 12,502
- Black or African American19.9% · 3,498
- Two or more races4.8% · 846
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 569
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 112
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 83
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bledsoe
Bledsoe 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
#1,948
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,510
+576 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 6.28
Rank movement Down 107 places
2020
#2,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,610
-900 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 5.89
Rank movement Down 57 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,841 | 17,934 | 6.65 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,948 | 18,510 | 6.28 | +576 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 107 places |
| 2020 | #2,005 | 17,610 | 5.89 | -900 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 57 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 Bledsoe 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 | #1,948 | #2,005 | -2.9% |
| Count | 18,510 | 17,610 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 6.28 | 5.89 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bledsoe bearers went from 18,510 to 17,610 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 57 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,948 to #2,005.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Bledsoe
FAQ
Bledsoe surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bledsoe?
Name Census estimates that about 20,194 living Americans carry the surname Bledsoe. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 16,973 residents.
How common is Bledsoe?
Bledsoe ranks #2,005 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.89 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 17,610 people with the surname Bledsoe. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (20,194), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.89 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.89 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Bledsoe.
Has Bledsoe become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bledsoe went from 18,510 recorded bearers to 17,610. That is a decrease of 900 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,948 to #2,005.
What does the Census say about the background of Bledsoe?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bledsoe, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.0%. The next largest groups are Black (19.9%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Bledsoe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.0% (12,502 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bledsoe appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (71.0%), Black (19.9%), Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Bledsoe (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 Bledsoe mean?
An English locational surname derived from a place name meaning "dark pool" or "dark spring" in Old English. 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 Bledsoe (5.89 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 Bledsoe?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.