How common is the surname Black?

154,738 people in the United States had the surname Black in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 1,995 Americans. It ranked 174th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Black?

Jack Black, American actor, comedian, and musician (born 1969), followed by Karen Black.

Where is the surname Black most common?

Wikidata records people named Black in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom and 2 other countries.

Is the surname Black getting more or less common?

More common. 150,186 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 154,738 in 2010, up 3.0%.

The surname Black

A French nickname surname, carried by 154,738 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex B420

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Black is more common than 99.9% of them.

Origin

French origin

From Middle English blak (“black”). Also a variant of Blake, from Old English blāc (“pale”) and Blanc, from Old French blanc (“white”).

Black is a nickname surname: from a description or nickname of an ancestor.

One of 791 French surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 154,738 people named Black in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 1,995 Americans. That is up 3.0% since 2000, when the Census counted 150,186.

#174

rank among US surnames

154,738

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+3%

change since 2000 (was #160)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#165	Snyder	160,262	1,927
#166	Mason	160,213	1,927
#167	Dixon	159,480	1,936
#168	Munoz	158,483	1,948
#169	Hunt	158,421	1,949
#170	Hicks	158,320	1,950
#171	Holmes	156,780	1,969

Who is named Black

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

75% of people named Black identified as white (not Hispanic), 19% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 75%
Black (not Hispanic) 19%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.3%
Two or more races 2.1%
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.4%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Blacks

62 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Jack Black
American actor, comedian, and musician (born 1969)
Karen Black
American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter (1939-2013)
Rebecca Black
American singer (born 1997)
Tori Black
American pornographic actress, born 1988
Lucas Black
American actor, born 1982
Claudia Black
Australian actress, born 1972
Shane Black
American actor, screenwriter and film director, born 1961
Bob Black
American anarchist, born 1951
Holly Black
American children's fiction writer, born 1971
Dustin Lance Black
American screenwriter, director and producer, born 1974
Lewis Black
American comedian and actor, born 1948
Jeremiah S. Black
American lawyer and politician (1810-1883)

Notable Blacks come mostly from the United States (54), Australia (3) and the United Kingdom (2).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Black

Black has the Soundex code B420, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code B420.

Other French surnames

All 791 French surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Black come from?: From Middle English blak (“black”). Also a variant of Blake, from Old English blāc (“pale”) and Blanc, from Old French blanc (“white”).
How common is the surname Black?: 154,738 people in the United States had the surname Black in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 1,995 Americans. It ranked 174th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Black?: In the 2010 Census, 75% of people named Black identified as white (not Hispanic), and 19% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Black?: Jack Black, American actor, comedian, and musician (born 1969), followed by Karen Black.
Where is the surname Black most common?: Wikidata records people named Black in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom and 2 other countries.
What type of surname is Black?: Black is a nickname surname, from a description or nickname of an ancestor.
Is the surname Black getting more or less common?: More common. 150,186 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 154,738 in 2010, up 3.0%.