Contents [hide]

Blank History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Motto Citations

Blank History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Netherlands
England
France
Germany

The surname Blank is derived from the French words "le" and "blanc", which translates to "the white." It was no doubt originally given to a man with white or blond hair and the feminine form, blanche, was usually given to a woman that possessed great beauty. 1

Early Origins of the Blank family

The surname Blank was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where this ancient family were part of the Royal House of Blois and held a family seat with lands, titles, estates and manors. Members of this family were the hereditary Barons of Bailleul of Norman Conquest fame, and who assisted Duke William of Normandy, head of the House of Blois, in his conquest of England in 1066.

Members of this distinguished and Royal family branched to many locations throughout Europe and amongst the locations were: Silesia, Holland, Italy and Britain. The earliest record of the name Blanch occurred in Normandy between 1180-95 with William Blanc and Robert and John Blanche. 2

Another early finding of the name was Blanche of Navarre (1226-1283), also known as Blanche of Champagne, was the daughter of Theobald the Troubador, King of Navarre and Count of Champagne, and his second wife Agnes of Beaujeu. Blanche of Navarre (French: Blanche d'Évreux) (1330-1398) was Queen consort of France as the wife of King Philip VI of France. Blanche I (1387-1441) was Queen of Navarre from 1425 to 1441 and her daughter Blanche II of Navarre (1424-1464), was titular Queen of Navarre (1461-1464) and by marriage Princess of Asturias.

Another source also claims that the name could come from the Vendée, a department in western France and the town of Noirmoutiers, an island off of the west coast of France. 1

The name Blanche was first recorded in the western part of France with two former noble families. In Britain, Colin Blanche was a member of the house of the Duchess in 1400, Jean, was an armed archer for the Duc in 1420, and François, was a man involved in an armed watch of the city of Dinan in 1489. 3

The noble family with the name Blanche in Normandy and in Maine was maintained in the 1666 election around the time that Philippe was the Archbishop of Tours. The names including the article, such as Le Blanc, were most commonly seen in Northern France. 4

Jean Leblanc, born in 1620, was the son of Clement Leblanc and Anne Fevre. He was one of the first ancestors with the name Leblanc found in Canada. Jean married Euphrasie-Madeleine Nicolet on 21st November 1643 and together they had seven children. 5

Early History of the Blank family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Blank research. Another 128 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1572, 1602, 1700, 1718, 1778 and 1788 are included under the topic Early Blank History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Blank Spelling Variations

History has changed the spelling of most surnames. During the early development of the French language in the Middle Ages, a person gave his version of his name, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. Some variables were adopted by different branches of the family name. Hence, there spelling variations of the name Blank, some of which include Leblanc, Lebland, Leblang, Le Blanc, Blanc, Blanche, Blanchet, Blancheteau, Blancheton, Blanchonnet, Blanchot, Blanchaud, Blanquet, Blancot, Bianchi, Blanchecappe, Blanchecotte, Le Blank, Blank, Blanque, Blanke, Blancke and many more.

Early Notables of the Blank family

Another 41 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Blank Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Blank Ranking

In the United States, the name Blank is the 2,160^th most popular surname with an estimated 14,922 people with that name. 6

Blank migration to the United States +

In the 1700s, land incentives were finally given out by France to 2,000 migrants. Early marriage was encouraged in New France, and youths of 18 took fourteen-year-old girls for their wives. The fur trade was developed and attracted migrants, both noble and commoner from France. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries, leaving French names scattered across the continent. The search for the Northwest passage continued. Migration from France to New France or Quebec, as it was now more popularly called, continued until 1759. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In the treaty of Utrecht, Acadia were ceded by France to Britain in 1713. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported. They found refuge in Louisiana. Meanwhile, in Quebec, the French race flourished, founding in Lower Canada, one of the two great solitudes which became Canada. Many of this distinguished family name Blank were prominent in social, cultural, religious and political affairs in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Blank were

Blank Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Henry Blank who settled in Virginia in 1701
Niklaas Blank, who arrived in New York in 1709 7
Christian Blank, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1733 7
Hans Michel Blank, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1751 7
David Blank, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1754
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Blank Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Conrad Blank, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1803 7
Mr. Blank, who landed in Venezuela in 1842 7
Daniel Blank, aged 20, who landed in America in 1843 7
Karl Friedrich Blank, aged 32, who landed in America in 1843 7
Mrs. Blank, German who arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1845 aboard the ship "Harriet"
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Blank Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Katharina Blank, who landed in North America in 1900 7

Blank migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Blank Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Henry Blank, (b. 1872), aged 18, Cornish settler travelling aboard the ship "Taroba" arriving in Queensland, Australia on 5th December 1890 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Blank (post 1700) +

Rebecca Margaret Blank (1955-2023), American economist and academic administrator, Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin–Madison (2013-2022), United States Secretary of Commerce (2012-2013)
Jessica Blank, American actress, writer, and director
Julius Blank (1925-2011), American semiconductor pioneer, member of the so-called traitorous eight, founder Fairchild Semiconductor
Hanne Blank (b. 1969), American historian, writer, editor and public speaker
Arthur M. Blank (b. 1942), American businessman and a co-founder of the home improvement retailer The Home Depot
Amanda Blank (b. 1983), born Amanda Mallory, an American singer, rapper and member of the performance art band Sweatheart
Joani Blank (1937-2016), American entrepreneur, writer and videographer
Martin Blank (b. 1962), American glass artist
Marc Blank, American computer game designer
Harrod Blank (b. 1963), American documentary filmmaker
... (Another 24 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Blank family +

Bismarck

Heinrich Blank (1921-1941), German Matrosengefreiter who served aboard the German Battleship Bismarck during World War II when it was sunk heading to France; he died in the sinking 9

HMS Repulse

Mr. Frederick James Blank, British Marine, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and died in the sinking 10

RMS Titanic

Mr. Henry Blank, aged 39, American First Class passenger from Glen Ridge, New Jersey who sailed aboard the RMS Titanic and survived the sinking escaping in life boat 7 11

The Blank Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Sans tache
Motto Translation: Without stain.

Citations +

Dionne, N.-E., Origine Des Familles Canadiennes-Français. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969. Print.
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Hozier, Charles D, and Antoine Bachelin-Delforenne. État présent De La Noblesse française (1883-1887): Contenant Le Distionnaire De La Noblesse Contemporaine Et Larmorial général De France, Dapres Les Manuscrits De Ch. D Hozier. Librairie Des Bibliophiles, 1884. Print.
Dauzat, Albert, Morlet, Marie-Thérèse, Dictionaire Étymologique des Noms et Prénoms de France. Paris: Librairie Larousse, 1987. Print.
Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retreived 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_australia_queensland.pdf
Bismarck & Tirpitz Class - Crew List Bismarck. (Retrieved 2018, February 06). Retrieved from https://www.bismarck-class.dk/bismarck/crew/bismarck_crew.html#crew_details
HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html
Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html