Show ContentsBlom History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Blom family

The surname Blom was first found in Derbyshire where the name is a metonymic occupational name for an iron worker from the Middle English "blome" meaning an ingot of iron. [1] By extension, the name was derived from "the bloomer," a worker at a bloomery, or bloom-smithy. [2]

Another reference is more specific: " a 'bloom' is a mass of iron that has gone a second time through the fire - Anglo Saxon bloma; and bloomary, hence probably a Bloomer was a person employed in the manufacture of iron." [3]

One of the first records of the name was found in Derbyshire in 1202 when William Blomere was listed in Pipe Rolls at that time. The Assize Rolls of Staffordshire list Robert le Blomere there in 1279. [4]

The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 list Johannes Blomer, smyth and Johannes Blomere. Later Henry Blewmer and William Blumer were both listed in Yorkshire in 1513 and 1515. [2]

Early History of the Blom family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Blom research. Another 185 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1041, 1455, 1487, 1510, 1543, 1600, 1603, 1635, 1705 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Blom History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Blom Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Blom has been recorded under many different variations, including Blomer, Bloomer, Bloomar, Bloomere, Blomere, Blome and many more.

Early Notables of the Blom family

Distinguished members of the family include

  • Richard Blome (1635-1705), an English publisher and cartographer...

Blom World Ranking

In the United States, the name Blom is the 12,097th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. [5] However, in Netherlands, the name Blom is ranked the 45th most popular surname with an estimated 16,311 people with that name. [6] And in South Africa, the name Blom is the 563rd popular surname with an estimated 12,419 people with that name. [7]

Ireland Migration of the Blom family to Ireland

Some of the Blom family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 59 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Blom migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Blom or a variant listed above:

Blom Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Bernhard Jansen Blom, who settled in New York in 1637
  • Bernhard Jansen Blom, aged 26, who arrived in New York, NY in 1637 [8]
  • Stephen Blom, who arrived in Maryland in 1678 [8]
Blom Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • John Blom, who arrived in New Jersey in 1738 [8]
  • John Peter Blom, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1752 [8]
  • John Peter, Blom Sr., who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1752 [8]
Blom Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Phillip Blom and his wife Barbara, who settled in Philadelphia in 1803
  • C Blom, aged 39, who landed in New York, NY in 1846 [8]
  • Conr Fr Blom, who arrived in America in 1846 [8]
  • G Blom, aged 39, who arrived in New York, NY in 1846 [8]
  • Mrs. K Blom, who arrived in America in 1846 [8]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Blom (post 1700) +

  • Frans Blom (b. 1893), American archaeologist
  • Ben H. Blom, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Mayor of Reading, Ohio, 1945 [9]
  • Tom Blom (1946-2017), Dutch television and radio presenter
  • Edward Blom (b. 1970), Swedish archivist, trade historian, writer and a well-known TV personality
  • Gustav Peter Blom (1785-1869), Norwegian politician, member of the Norwegian Constitutional Assembly in 1814
  • Ida Blom (b. 1931), Norwegian historian
  • Johannes Jacobus Blom (b. 1948), famous South African painter
  • Eli Blom (b. 1922), Dutch television actor who worked under the name Elias Carl
  • Ingrid Blom Sheldon (b. 1945), American Republican politician, Mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1993-2000 [10]

HMAS Sydney II
  • Mr. Leslie Michael Blom (1919-1941), Australian Stoker from Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia, who sailed into battle aboard HMAS Sydney II and died in the sinking [11]


  1. Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8)
  2. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  3. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  4. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  5. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  6. "Most Common Last Names in Netherlands." Forebears, https://forebears.io/netherlands/surnames
  7. "Most Common Last Names in South Africa." Forebears, https://forebears.io/south-africa/surnames
  8. 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)
  9. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  10. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, April 22) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  11. HMAS Sydney II, Finding Sydney Foundation - Roll of Honour. (Retrieved 2014, April 24) . Retrieved from http://www.findingsydney.com/roll.asp


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