Blanton
A variant of the surname Blanden, of uncertain meaning and origin.
Name Census estimates that about 251 living Americans carry the first name Blanton. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Blanton today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Blanton births was 1921 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Blanton. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
251
~ 1 in 1,365,555 Americans
Peak year
1921
18 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,371
Tracked since 1908
Census
Blanton in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 325 people with the first name Blanton, which placed it at #27,889 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#27,889
National first-name rank
People counted
325
325 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
74.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Blanton
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Blanton is White at 74.8%. The next largest groups are Black (20.6%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Blanton 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 name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Blanton at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.8% · 243
- Black or African American20.6% · 67
- Two or more races2.5% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 2
Popularity
Blanton: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Blanton from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 97 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Blanton remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Blanton by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Blanton during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Blantons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Georgia, Alabama, Texas recorded the most babies named Blanton, while Texas, Alabama, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Blanton
The given name Blanton has its origins in Old English, and it is believed to have derived from the combination of two words: "blæc" meaning "black" and "tun" meaning "enclosure" or "settlement." This suggests that Blanton may have initially referred to a person living in or near a settlement with a dark or somber appearance, perhaps due to the color of the buildings or the surrounding landscape.
Historically, the name Blanton was prevalent in regions where Old English was spoken, particularly in parts of what is now England. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the late Anglo-Saxon period, around the 10th or 11th century. However, written records from that era are scarce, making it difficult to pinpoint the exact origin and usage of the name.
One of the earliest known individuals bearing the name Blanton was a landowner and minor nobleman named Blanton de Wyckham, who lived in the village of Wyckham, Oxfordshire, in the late 12th century. Records indicate that he was a benefactor to the local church and played a role in the construction of the village's first stone bridge.
Another notable figure from history who bore the name Blanton was Sir Blanton de Montfort, a knight who fought alongside Simon de Montfort during the Second Barons' War in the 13th century. He was later captured and executed for his role in the rebellion against King Henry III.
In the 14th century, a merchant named Blanton Fairfax is recorded as having established a successful trading business in London, dealing in wool and other textiles. His wealth and influence were significant enough for him to be granted a coat of arms by the College of Arms.
During the English Renaissance, a playwright and poet named Blanton Greene gained recognition for his contributions to the Elizabethan theatre scene. He was a contemporary of William Shakespeare and is believed to have collaborated with him on several plays, although the extent of his involvement is still debated by scholars.
Another notable figure was Blanton Wilberforce, an 18th-century abolitionist and reformer who campaigned tirelessly against the slave trade and worked closely with William Wilberforce. His speeches and writings played a crucial role in raising awareness about the inhumane conditions endured by enslaved Africans.
While the name Blanton has fallen out of common usage in recent times, it remains a part of history, reflecting the rich linguistic and cultural heritage of Old English. The individuals mentioned above serve as examples of the diverse backgrounds and accomplishments of those who have borne this name throughout the centuries.
People
Blanton + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Blanton as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Blanton: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Blanton?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 251 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Blanton going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,365,555 US residents.
Is Blanton a common name?
We classify Blanton as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 483 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Blanton most popular?
The single biggest year for Blanton was 1921, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Blanton is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Blanton in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 325 people with the name Blanton, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,889 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Blanton in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Blanton?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Blanton leans strongly male. 309 people counted with this name were male (94.2%), compared with 19 female bearers (5.8%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Blanton?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Blanton is White at 74.8%. The next largest groups are Black (20.6%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Blanton most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Blanton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.8% (243 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Blanton in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Blanton a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Blanton in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Blanton still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Blanton in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Blanton can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Blanton?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.