Unisex name ★ peaked 2012

Blake

Meaning black Gender Unisex · 10% girls Rank 2025 #316 Trend ↓ Falling 39%

A surname derived from either Old English blæc (“black”) or from Old English blāc (“pale, fair, shining, white”), or as an anglicisation of Irish Ó Bláthmaic.

Rank 2025
#316
among boys · ↓51 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
2,115
named Blake · -24% vs 2024
How common
1 in 1,582
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2012
6,450 babies
All-time total
206,623
#196 all-time among boys
First recorded
1883
in Social Security records

Blake popularity over time

206,623 babies have been named Blake since 1883, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
123418801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 19 19 2 – #654
1890s – 37 37 4 +95% #805
1900s – 45 45 5 +22% #862
1910s – 260 260 26 +478% #988
1920s – 414 414 41 +59% #892
1930s – 320 320 32 -23% #998
1940s – 583 583 58 +82% #729
1950s 11 2,594 2,605 261 +347% #391
1960s 86 4,721 4,807 481 +85% #330
1970s 227 5,443 5,670 567 +18% #276
1980s 747 25,398 26,145 2,615 +361% #97
1990s 1,924 45,873 47,797 4,780 +83% #77
2000s 1,338 50,109 51,447 5,145 +8% #76
2010s 7,614 41,721 49,335 4,934 -4% #71
2020s (to 2025) 8,118 9,021 17,139 2,857 -42% #205

Where Blake is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 991 0.58 #338
2027 921 0.54 #356
2028 865 0.51 #369
2029 820 0.48 #387
2030 784 0.46 #407

Where Blake is most popular

Boys named Blake per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.834 per 1,000. Strongest in Michigan, North Dakota, and New Hampshire.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Blake born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Michigan 449 2.19 +163%
North Dakota 35 2.05 +146%
New Hampshire 43 1.94 +132%
Maine 37 1.91 +129%
West Virginia 59 1.81 +117%
South Dakota 31 1.67 +100%
Idaho 66 1.61 +93%
Wisconsin 188 1.59 +90%
Maryland 185 1.55 +86%
Hawaii 23 1.48 +78%
Montana 26 1.47 +77%
Iowa 98 1.42 +70%
Pennsylvania 376 1.42 +70%
Rhode Island 23 1.41 +69%
Minnesota 169 1.38 +65%
Nebraska 58 1.33 +60%
Connecticut 90 1.33 +59%
Ohio 330 1.25 +49%
Missouri 172 1.24 +49%
Kentucky 118 1.18 +41%
Kansas 77 1.12 +35%
Oregon 85 1.12 +34%
Utah 99 1.04 +24%
Oklahoma 91 1.03 +23%
Indiana 161 1.00 +20%
Mississippi 57 1.00 +20%
Florida 470 0.993 +19%
Massachusetts 136 0.989 +19%
Colorado 127 0.984 +18%
Louisiana 100 0.978 +17%
Virginia 183 0.964 +16%
New York 415 0.958 +15%
Illinois 225 0.880 +6%
Washington 144 0.880 +5%
South Carolina 90 0.871 ≈ national
New Jersey 175 0.869 ≈ national
Wyoming 5 0.864 ≈ national
Delaware 13 0.857 ≈ national
Nevada 48 0.842 ≈ national
Vermont 5 0.796 -5%
North Carolina 201 0.787 -6%
Arizona 124 0.758 -9%
Tennessee 135 0.748 -10%
Arkansas 47 0.743 -11%
Georgia 175 0.691 -17%
District of Columbia 10 0.677 -19%
Alabama 70 0.640 -23%
California 572 0.626 -25%
Texas 493 0.560 -33%
Alaska 5 0.420 -50%
New Mexico 8 0.243 -71%

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Blake

Blake is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #316 in 2025 with 1,080 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1883, 206,623 American babies have been named Blake, about 90% boys and 10% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2012, when 6,450 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Blake stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Blake?

The median living Blake is about 22 years old; half are between 13 and 32. An estimated 200 thousand people named Blake are alive in the United States today.

median 22 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Blake year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 1,035 #295 1,080 #316
2024 1,461 #210 1,321 #265
2023 1,351 #221 1,374 #254
2022 1,448 #200 1,581 #228
2021 1,504 #199 1,850 #205
2020 1,319 #222 1,815 #209
2019 1,388 #224 2,141 #183
2018 1,185 #280 2,466 #158
2017 1,185 #269 2,626 #149
2016 1,098 #298 3,290 #127
2015 752 #424 4,234 #96
2014 501 #591 4,948 #84
2013 536 #551 5,649 #75
2012 403 #700 6,047 #71
2011 325 #817 5,617 #73
2010 241 #1,035 4,703 #87
2009 230 #1,108 4,952 #89
2008 162 #1,455 5,099 #90
2007 90 #2,198 5,277 #88
2006 91 #2,133 4,537 #97
2005 86 #2,142 4,418 #99
2004 114 #1,699 4,694 #95
2003 108 #1,745 5,275 #79
2002 130 #1,469 5,358 #76
2001 144 #1,332 5,356 #77
2000 183 #1,115 5,143 #80
1995 203 #926 4,821 #77
1990 203 #935 4,103 #91
1985 62 #1,813 2,922 #100
1980 39 #2,442 971 #237
1975 24 #2,976 523 #333
1970 17 #3,593 526 #353
1965 10 #4,222 445 #364
1960 – – 431 #380
1955 – – 279 #445
1950 – – 131 #595
1945 – – 51 #885
1940 – – 33 #1,160
1935 – – 34 #1,126
1930 – – 29 #1,336
1925 – – 37 #1,164
1920 – – 50 #977
1915 – – 38 #1,038
1910 – – 10 #1,051
1905 – – – –
1900 – – 5 #1,335
1895 – – 5 #1,097
1890 – – 5 #1,020
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Blake

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Blake Lively Blake Lively American actress (born 1987) Contemporary
  2. 2 Blake Griffin Blake Griffin American basketball player (born 1989) Contemporary
  3. 3 Blake Shelton Blake Shelton American country singer (born 1976) Contemporary
  4. 4 Blake Edwards Blake Edwards American filmmaker (1922–2010) Contemporary
  5. 5 Blake Clark Blake Clark American stand-up comedian and actor b. 1946 · Contemporary
  6. 6 Blake Jenner Blake Jenner American actor (born 1992) Contemporary
  7. 7 Blake Michael Blake Michael American actor, businessman and journalist b. 1996 · Contemporary
  8. 8 Blake Wheeler Blake Wheeler American ice hockey player (born 1986) Contemporary
  9. 9 Blake Lewis Blake Lewis American musician (born 1981) Contemporary
  10. 10 Blake Ross Blake Ross American software developer b. 1985 · Contemporary
  11. 11 Blake Pieroni American swimmer (born 1995) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Blake, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Blake?

The median living Blake is about 22 years old. Half of all living Blakes are between 13 and 32 years old.

How many people named Blake are alive today?

An estimated 200 thousand people named Blake are alive in the United States, based on 206,623 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Blake mean?

A surname derived from either Old English blæc (“black”) or from Old English blāc (“pale, fair, shining, white”), or as an anglicisation of Irish Ó Bláthmaic.

How popular is the name Blake in 2025?

Blake ranked #316 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 1,080 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Blake?

206,623 babies have been named Blake in the United States since 1883, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Blake most popular?

Blake peaked in 2012, when 6,450 newborns received the name.

Is Blake a boy or girl name?

Blake is used for both: about 10% of babies named Blake have been girls and 90% boys.

Is the name Blake rising or falling?

Blake is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Blake become more popular?

Blake is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 784 boys named Blake in 2030, which would rank around #407. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Blake?

Well-known people named Blake include Blake Lively (actor), Blake Griffin (basketball player), Blake Shelton (singer).

Names like Blake

Names that sound and feel close to Blake: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Blake with similar names → More names starting with B →