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

Blitstein, 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 Blitstein surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Blitstein in America

Blitstein is the 71478th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Blitstein surname appeared 273 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 Blitstein.

We can also compare 2010 data for Blitstein 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 Blitstein

The surname Blitstein is of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, originating in the regions of Eastern Europe and Russia in the 18th century. It is believed to be a derivative of the Yiddish word "blits," meaning "lightning," with the suffix "-stein" denoting the place of origin or residence.

This surname is not found in many historical records due to the persecution and displacement of Jewish communities during that period. However, some early mentions of the name can be traced back to the late 18th century in areas such as Belarus and Ukraine.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Blitstein was Yakov Blitstein, a merchant born in the early 1800s in the town of Mogilev, Belarus. Another notable figure was Rabbi Shmuel Blitstein, a renowned scholar and Torah teacher who lived in the city of Odessa, Ukraine, in the mid-19th century.

As Jewish communities migrated westward and settled in other parts of Europe and eventually the United States, the surname Blitstein became more widespread. Isaac Blitstein, a Polish-born immigrant to the United States, was a prominent businessman and philanthropist in the early 20th century, contributing significantly to Jewish educational institutions and causes.

In the realm of literature, the name Blitstein is associated with Leopold Blitstein, a Russian-born American poet and translator who lived from 1890 to 1981. He is best known for his translation of the epic poem "The Lay of Igor's Campaign" from Old Russian to English.

Another figure of note is Max Blitstein, a German-born American mathematician and computer scientist who made significant contributions to the field of computational complexity theory. He lived from 1927 to 2005 and held academic positions at various prestigious institutions throughout his career.

While the surname Blitstein is not among the most common, it has a rich history rooted in the experiences of Jewish communities in Eastern Europe and their subsequent migrations around the world. The name's origins and evolution reflect the resilience and adaptability of these communities in the face of adversity.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Blitstein

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

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

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

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