Blase
Derived from Greek, meaning "blasphemous" or "irreverent".
Name Census estimates that about 521 living Americans carry the first name Blase. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Blase today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Blase births was 1948 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Blase. 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
521
~ 1 in 657,878 Americans
Peak year
1948
16 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,010
Tracked since 1914
Census
Blase in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 577 people with the first name Blase, which placed it at #18,616 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
#18,616
National first-name rank
People counted
577
577 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
82.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Blase
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Blase is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.3%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Blase 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 Blase at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.1% · 474
- Hispanic or Latino8.3% · 48
- Two or more races4.5% · 26
- Black or African American2.4% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 6
Popularity
Blase: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Blase from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 110 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Blase 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 Blase during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Blases live
Origin
Meaning and history of Blase
The name Blase finds its origins in the Greek language and culture, tracing back to the late antiquity period. It is derived from the Greek word "blastos," meaning "sprout" or "offspring." The name is closely associated with the Christian martyr Saint Blaise, who lived in the 3rd century AD.
Saint Blaise was a physician and bishop of Sebastea in historical Armenia. According to legend, he was known for his ability to perform miraculous healings, particularly for ailments related to the throat. His feast day, celebrated on February 3rd, is traditionally marked by the blessing of throats, a ritual still practiced in some Christian denominations.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Blase can be found in the hagiographical accounts of Saint Blaise's life and martyrdom. These stories, which date back to the 4th century, helped popularize the name among early Christian communities in the Eastern Mediterranean region.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Blase. One of the earliest was Blase of Amorium (c. 805 – c. 865), a Byzantine scholar and theologian who played a significant role in the iconoclastic controversy of the 9th century. Another prominent figure was Blase of Parma (1490 – 1567), an Italian philosopher and legal scholar who contributed to the development of natural law theory.
In the realm of the arts, Blase Cuperman (1884 – 1941) was a renowned Polish painter and graphic artist active in the early 20th century. His works are celebrated for their vibrant colors and depictions of urban life. Blase Bonpane (1929 – 2018), an American-born Catholic priest and activist, gained recognition for his advocacy of human rights and social justice causes.
Blase J. Cupich (born 1949) is a prominent figure in the Catholic Church, currently serving as the Archbishop of Chicago. He is known for his progressive stance on various social issues and his efforts to promote dialogue and reconciliation within the church.
While the name Blase has its roots in ancient Greek and Christian traditions, it has maintained a presence throughout history, carried by individuals from diverse fields and backgrounds, each leaving their mark on their respective eras and disciplines.
People
Blase + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Blase 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
Blase: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Blase?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 521 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Blase 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 657,878 US residents.
Is Blase a common name?
We classify Blase as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 779 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Blase most popular?
The single biggest year for Blase was 1948, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Blase is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Blase in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 577 people with the name Blase, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,616 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 Blase 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 Blase?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Blase leans strongly male. 559 people counted with this name were male (95.6%), compared with 26 female bearers (4.4%). 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 Blase?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Blase is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.3%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Blase most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Blase in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.1% (474 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 Blase in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Blase a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Blase 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 Blase still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Blase 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 Blase 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 Blase as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Blase on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.