How common is the surname Block?

21,717 people in the United States had the surname Block in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 14,217 Americans. It ranked 1,658th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Block?

Ken Block, American rally driver (1967–2023), followed by Walter Block.

Where is the surname Block most common?

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

Is the surname Block getting more or less common?

More common. 21,686 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 21,717 in 2010, up 0.1%.

The surname Block

A German surname, carried by 21,717 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). Block is more common than 99% of them.

Origin

German origin

* 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.

One of 1,101 German surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 21,717 people named Block in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 14,217 Americans. That is about the same as in 2000, when the Census counted 21,686.

#1,658

rank among US surnames

21,717

people in 2010

7.4

per 100,000 Americans

+0.1%

change since 2000 (was #1,518)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,649	Bolden	21,819	14,150
#1,650	Wolff	21,815	14,153
#1,651	Thorpe	21,813	14,154
#1,652	Hassan	21,801	14,162
#1,653	Hadley	21,771	14,182
#1,654	Healy	21,751	14,195
#1,655	McDonough	21,739	14,202

Who is named Block

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

91% of people named Block identified as white (not Hispanic), 4.2% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

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

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Blocks

15 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Ken Block
American rally driver (1967–2023)
Walter Block
Austrian School economist and prominent anarcho-capitalist, born 1941
Lawrence Block
American writer, born 1938
Zhanna Pintusevych-Block
Athletics competitor, sprinter, born 1972
Ned Block
American philosopher and academic, born 1942
Stephanie J. Block
American actress and singer, born 1972
Rory Block
American blues guitarist and singer, born 1949
John Block
American basketball player (born 1944)
Francesca Lia Block
American children's writer, born 1962
Herblock
American editorial cartoonist (1909–2001)
John Rusling Block
American government official, born 1935
Larry Block
American actor (1942-2012)

Notable Blocks come mostly from the United States (13), the Soviet Union (1) and Belgium (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Block

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

Other German surnames

All 1,101 German surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Block come from?: * 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.
How common is the surname Block?: 21,717 people in the United States had the surname Block in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 14,217 Americans. It ranked 1,658th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Block?: In the 2010 Census, 91% of people named Block identified as white (not Hispanic), and 4.2% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Block?: Ken Block, American rally driver (1967–2023), followed by Walter Block.
Where is the surname Block most common?: Wikidata records people named Block in the United States, the Soviet Union and Belgium.
Is the surname Block getting more or less common?: More common. 21,686 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 21,717 in 2010, up 0.1%.