Blalock
A surname most likely from a place-name or old descriptive nickname built on the element “blaw/blae,” often referring to blue or pale color.
The #3,145 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 26,864 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Blalock is usually treated as a northern English or Scots surname shaped by older words for color, especially "blaw" or "blae," meaning blue, bluish, or pale. The second element may be a place-name ending or a lost local feature-name, so the surname likely began as someone identified by a blue/pale place, hill, or boundary marker. Because the historical record is thin and spellings vary, the exact original form is not certain.
History
The surname is found chiefly in English-speaking records and later became well established in North America, especially in the United States. It may reflect an old local English or Scots name that was carried overseas by early migrants, with the modern spelling becoming fixed only after immigration. Today it is most familiar as an American surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Blalock is often discussed alongside Blaylock, a very close spelling that may represent the same surname family in older records.