2000
#10,114
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,933
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.09
Rare Last name
Blough
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "flowering meadow" in Middle High German.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,337 Americans carry the last name Blough. That puts it at #10,518 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.97 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 102,713 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Blough 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
3.3K
1 in 102,713
Census rank
#10,518
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,910 bearers of the surname Blough in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.97 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10518th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Blough, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Blough
The surname Blough is believed to have originated in Germany, where it was likely derived from the Old German word "bloch," meaning "block" or "log." This suggests that the name may have been initially assigned to someone who worked with wood, such as a lumberjack or a woodcutter.
The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 16th century in various regions of Germany, with variations in spelling such as Bloch, Blochius, and Blocher. It's worth noting that the name may have also been influenced by the German word "blau," meaning "blue," potentially indicating a connection to a place name or a physical characteristic.
One of the earliest known references to the name Blough can be found in the records of the town of Nuremberg, where a certain Johannes Bloch is mentioned in a document dated 1542. Another notable early bearer of the name was Hans Blocher, a merchant from Augsburg who lived in the late 16th century.
As the name spread across Europe, it eventually made its way to other countries, including Switzerland and the Netherlands. In the 17th century, several Blough families immigrated to the American colonies, particularly in Pennsylvania, where they settled in areas with significant German populations.
Among the notable individuals with the surname Blough throughout history are:
1. Johannes Bloch (c. 1520 - c. 1590), a German theologian and author from Nuremberg.
2. Christoph Blough (1654 - 1718), a Swiss painter known for his landscapes and religious works.
3. Samuel Blough (1724 - 1802), an early American settler in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and a member of the Pennsylvania Militia during the American Revolutionary War.
4. Anna Blough (1786 - 1859), a pioneering educator and founder of one of the first schools for girls in Ohio.
5. Heinrich Blough (1819 - 1892), a German-American inventor and industrialist who patented several innovations in the field of textile machinery.
While the surname Blough may not have achieved widespread fame, it has a rich history rooted in the Germanic regions of Europe, with its bearers contributing to various fields throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Blough
Among Census respondents with the surname Blough, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Blough 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 Blough surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.6% · 2,724
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 82
- Two or more races2.3% · 68
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 23
- Black or African American0.3% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Blough
Blough 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
#10,631
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,012
+79 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 1.02
Rank movement Down 517 places
2020
#10,518
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,910
-102 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.97
Rank movement Up 113 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,114 | 2,933 | 1.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,631 | 3,012 | 1.02 | +79 bearers (+2.7%) | Down 517 places |
| 2020 | #10,518 | 2,910 | 0.97 | -102 bearers (-3.4%) | Up 113 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 Blough 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 | #10,631 | #10,518 | 1.1% |
| Count | 3,012 | 2,910 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.02 | 0.97 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Blough bearers went from 3,012 to 2,910 (-3.4% change). The surname moved up 113 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,631 to #10,518.
FAQ
Blough surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Blough?
Name Census estimates that about 3,337 living Americans carry the surname Blough. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 102,713 residents.
How common is Blough?
Blough ranks #10,518 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.97 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,910 people with the surname Blough. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,337), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.97 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.97 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Blough.
Has Blough become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Blough went from 3,012 recorded bearers to 2,910. That is a decrease of 102 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,631 to #10,518.
What does the Census say about the background of Blough?
Among Census respondents with the surname Blough, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Blough in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.6% (2,724 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Blough appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.6%), Hispanic (2.8%), Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Blough (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 Blough mean?
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "flowering meadow" in Middle High German. 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 Blough (0.97 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 people are called Blough?
You can see how many Americans have the surname Blough on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.