# Block (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/block/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | German |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 21,717 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,658 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 14,217 people |
| Change since 2000 | +0.1% (21,686 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

* A Germanic surname (German, Dutch and English), from German Block and Dutch blok respectively. As an English surname from the same cognate, block. * As a Jewish surname, Americanized from Bloch. Also see Vlach.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Block in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 91% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 4.2% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.4% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.8% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.3% |
| Two or more races | 1.7% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Block in the United States, the Soviet Union and Belgium.

## People named Block

- Ken Block, American rally driver (1967–2023)
- Walter Block, Austrian School economist and prominent anarcho-capitalist
- Lawrence Block, American writer
- Zhanna Pintusevych-Block, Athletics competitor, sprinter
- Ned Block, American philosopher and academic
- Stephanie J. Block, American actress and singer
- Rory Block, American blues guitarist and singer
- John Block, American basketball player (born 1944)
- Francesca Lia Block, American children's writer
- Herblock, American editorial cartoonist (1909–2001)
- John Rusling Block, American government official
- Larry Block, American actor (1942-2012)

and 3 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Black, Bullock, Bolick, Blick, Bloch, Baloch, Blake, Bowles, Bliss, Boles, Bales, Boyles.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.