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

Blessington, 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 Blessington surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Blessington in America

Blessington is the 55741st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Blessington surname appeared 368 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 Blessington.

We can also compare 2010 data for Blessington 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 Blessington

The surname Blessington is an English locational name that originated from the town of Blessington, located in County Wicklow, Ireland. The name is derived from the Old English words "bless" and "tun," meaning "blessed" and "town" or "settlement," respectively.

The name Blessington is believed to have first appeared in historical records during the 12th century, when the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place. The town of Blessington was likely founded by English settlers during this period, and the surname emerged as a means of identifying individuals who hailed from that particular settlement.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Blessington can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire, England, dating back to the year 1228. This record references a person named Roger de Blessington, suggesting that the name had already established itself as a recognizable surname by that time.

Over the centuries, the name Blessington has appeared in various historical documents and records, including the Feet of Fines for Yorkshire in 1349, which mentions a William de Blessington. In the 15th century, the name is recorded in the form of "Blessingtone" in the Paston Letters, a collection of correspondence between members of the influential Paston family.

One notable figure associated with the name Blessington is Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington (1789-1849), an Irish novelist and literary hostess who was renowned for her beauty and intellect. She hosted a famous literary salon in London, which was frequented by prominent figures such as Lord Byron and Charles Dickens.

Other individuals of historical significance who bore the surname Blessington include:

1. John Blessington (c. 1600-1678), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament during the reign of Charles II.
2. Henry Blessington (1711-1779), an Irish politician and landowner who served as a Member of the Irish House of Commons.
3. William Blessington (1737-1805), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge.
4. Edith Blessington (1848-1926), an American author and activist who campaigned for women's rights and social reform.
5. Arthur Blessington (1880-1954), a British military officer who served in the First World War and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his bravery.

While the surname Blessington has its roots in Ireland, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly through the migration of Irish and English settlers to other countries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Blessington

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

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

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

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