2000
#12,168
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,347
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.87
Rare Last name
Blowers
One who worked the bellows at a forge or furnace, assisting a smith or ironworker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,695 Americans carry the last name Blowers. That puts it at #12,575 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.79 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 127,182 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Blowers 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Blowers with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.7K
1 in 127,182
Census rank
#12,575
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,350 bearers of the surname Blowers in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.79 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12575th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Blowers, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Blowers
The surname Blowers has its origins in England, with the earliest recorded instances dating back to the 14th century. The name is believed to be derived from the Old English word 'blawere', which referred to a person who played a wind instrument, particularly a trumpet or horn. This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational surname given to individuals who were musicians or town criers.
One of the earliest known references to the name Blowers can be found in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire, dated 1317. In this record, a man named Adam le Blawere is mentioned, indicating the use of the name as a descriptive term for his occupation.
During the Middle Ages, the surname Blowers began to spread across various regions of England, with variations in spelling such as Blower, Blore, and Blour appearing in historical records. The different spellings likely arose due to regional dialects and the inconsistent nature of written records at the time.
In the 16th century, the surname Blowers can be found in the parish registers of St. Michael's Church in Coventry, Warwickshire. One notable individual from this time period was John Blowers, a prominent merchant and alderman in Coventry, who lived from around 1520 to 1590.
As the name spread, it became associated with certain place names, such as Blowers Green in Staffordshire and Blowers Hill in Gloucestershire. These locations may have been named after individuals bearing the surname, or vice versa, with the surname being derived from the place name.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have carried the surname Blowers. One such figure was Sir John Blowers (1625-1698), an English lawyer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Pontefract in Yorkshire. Another was Benjamin Blowers (1768-1845), an English architect and surveyor who designed several notable buildings in London.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Blowers dates back to the 17th century. Thomas Blowers (1642-1707) was an English Puritan settler who emigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony and became a prominent figure in the town of Beverly.
Other notable individuals with the surname Blowers include Samuel Blowers (1724-1784), an American lawyer and politician who served as Attorney General of Massachusetts, and Sampson Blowers (1742-1842), a Canadian lawyer and judge who served as the first Chief Justice of Nova Scotia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Blowers
Among Census respondents with the surname Blowers, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Blowers 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 Blowers surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.5% · 2,151
- Two or more races3.8% · 89
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 69
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 20
- Black or African American0.5% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Blowers
Blowers 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
#12,715
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,428
+81 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.82
Rank movement Down 547 places
2020
#12,575
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,350
-78 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Up 140 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,168 | 2,347 | 0.87 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,715 | 2,428 | 0.82 | +81 bearers (+3.5%) | Down 547 places |
| 2020 | #12,575 | 2,350 | 0.79 | -78 bearers (-3.2%) | Up 140 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 Blowers 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 | #12,715 | #12,575 | 1.1% |
| Count | 2,428 | 2,350 | -3.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.82 | 0.79 | -4.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Blowers bearers went from 2,428 to 2,350 (-3.2% change). The surname moved up 140 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,715 to #12,575.
FAQ
Blowers surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Blowers?
Name Census estimates that about 2,695 living Americans carry the surname Blowers. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 127,182 residents.
How common is Blowers?
Blowers ranks #12,575 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.79 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 2,350 people with the surname Blowers. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,695), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.79 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.79 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 Blowers.
Has Blowers become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Blowers went from 2,428 recorded bearers to 2,350. That is a decrease of 78 (-3.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,715 to #12,575.
What does the Census say about the background of Blowers?
Among Census respondents with the surname Blowers, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Blowers in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (2,151 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Blowers appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.5%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Blowers (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 Blowers mean?
One who worked the bellows at a forge or furnace, assisting a smith or ironworker. 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 Blowers (0.79 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 have the surname Blowers?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.