Blank
A surname usually traced to the French word for “white” or “bright,” and sometimes treated as a short form or variant of Blanch/Blanchett.
The #2,765 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 23,659 Americans shares it.
Etymology
In the older surname dictionaries, Blank is commonly explained from French blanc, meaning “white” or “bright.” That makes it a descriptive nickname surname in origin, probably first applied to someone with pale hair, fair coloring, or some other “white” association. Some writers also link it with related names such as Blanch and Blanchett, treating Blank as a shortened or altered form of the same family of surnames.
History
The name appears in English records in several spellings, including Blanck and Blanke, and later the simpler modern form Blank. English surname writers of the 19th century often grouped it with Blanch/Blanchett rather than treating it as fully separate. In the United States it is uncommon but clearly established, with a modest national presence.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One older surname dictionary explicitly glosses Blank as French blanc, “white.”
From the historical record
“called Blagni, near Bayeux, in Xormaudj'. BLANK. BLANKS. See Blanch. BLANKETT. See Blanchett. BLATCIILEY. A parish in Bucks. (Bletchley.) BLATHERWYCK. A parish in co. Nor- thampton. BLATinVAYT. Said to be the same as Braithwaite. See Tliwaite.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom