Blenkush last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Blenkush

A Slavic surname possibly derived from a geographic location or occupation.

Blenkush, 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 Blenkush surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Blenkush in America

Blenkush is the 133048th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Blenkush surname appeared 127 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 Blenkush.

We can also compare 2010 data for Blenkush 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 133048 131366 1.27%
Count 127 119 6.50%
Proportion per 100k 0.04 0.04 0.00%

The history of the last name Blenkush

The surname BLENKUSH is of Eastern European origin, most likely originating in the Balkan region during the medieval period. It is believed to derive from the Slavic word "blenko," which means "pale" or "light-colored," potentially referring to a person's physical appearance or complexion. The suffix "-ush" is a common patronymic ending in various Slavic languages, indicating the name may have initially been a patronymic designation, signifying the son or descendant of someone with a pale complexion.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the BLENKUSH surname can be found in the historical records of the Principality of Zeta, located in modern-day Montenegro, dating back to the 14th century. It is mentioned in a manuscript detailing land ownership and taxation records, indicating that a family bearing this name held significant landholdings in the region.

In the 16th century, the BLENKUSH surname appeared in several church records and parish registers in the Kingdom of Hungary, particularly in the areas that are now parts of modern-day Croatia and Serbia. This suggests that families with this surname had migrated or established roots in these regions during the Ottoman conquests and subsequent population movements.

Historically, the BLENKUSH name has been associated with several notable individuals. One such figure was Pavle Blenkush, a Serbian military commander who played a crucial role in the battles against the Ottoman Empire during the Austro-Turkish War of 1716-1718. He was born in 1681 in the village of Blenkushevac, which some historians believe may have derived its name from the BLENKUSH surname.

Another notable bearer of this surname was Miloš Blenkush, a Croatian writer and poet who lived in the 18th century. Blenkush's works, primarily written in the Kajkavian dialect of Croatian, shed light on the cultural and linguistic traditions of the region during that period. He was born in 1724 in the town of Varaždin and is considered one of the foremost literary figures of his time.

In the 19th century, the BLENKUSH surname gained prominence in the Russian Empire, particularly in the regions of modern-day Ukraine and Belarus. One such individual was Ivan Blenkush, a prominent landowner and philanthropist born in 1812 in the city of Kyiv. He was known for his charitable contributions to educational institutions and the construction of several churches in the region.

Another notable figure was Marija Blenkush, a Serbian painter and artist who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in 1875 in Belgrade, she was celebrated for her impressionistic landscapes and portraiture, and her works were exhibited in various art galleries across Europe.

The BLENKUSH surname, while relatively uncommon, has a rich historical lineage and can be traced back to various regions of Eastern Europe, particularly the Balkan Peninsula and parts of the former Russian Empire. Its origins and evolution reflect the diverse cultural and linguistic influences that have shaped these regions over centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Blenkush

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

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 Blenkush was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 97.64% 124
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin (S)% (S)

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 Blenkush has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 97.64% 99.16% -1.54%
Black 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races (S)% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic (S)% (S)% (S)%

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

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

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"Blenkush last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on July 12, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/blenkush-surname-popularity/.

"Blenkush last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/blenkush-surname-popularity/. Accessed 12 July, 2025

Blenkush last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/blenkush-surname-popularity/.

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