NameCensus.

UK surname

Bladen

An English habitational surname derived from the town of Bladen in Somerset.

In the 1881 census there were 368 people recorded with the Bladen surname, ranking it #8,454 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 795, ranked #6,958, up from #8,454 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Wolverhampton, Wellington, Wrockwardine, Eyton-on-the-Moors, Preston-on-the-Moors and Rowley Regis. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Barnsley, Cardiff and Torfaen.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Bladen is 888 in 1998. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 116.0%.

1881 census count

368

Ranked #8,454

Modern count

795

2016, ranked #6,958

Peak year

1998

888 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Bladen had 368 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #8,454 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 795 in 2016, ranked #6,958.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 621 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Bladen surname distribution map

The map shows where the Bladen surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Bladen surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Bladen over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 296 #7,723
1861 historical 312 #8,127
1881 historical 368 #8,454
1891 historical 456 #7,996
1901 historical 574 #7,311
1911 historical 621 #6,661
1997 modern 789 #6,610
1998 modern 888 #6,222
1999 modern 876 #6,336
2000 modern 888 #6,233
2001 modern 862 #6,264
2002 modern 872 #6,340
2003 modern 848 #6,357
2004 modern 834 #6,438
2005 modern 800 #6,615
2006 modern 799 #6,638
2007 modern 819 #6,567
2008 modern 812 #6,659
2009 modern 827 #6,705
2010 modern 862 #6,618
2011 modern 841 #6,670
2012 modern 788 #6,929
2013 modern 814 #6,844
2014 modern 817 #6,861
2015 modern 800 #6,936
2016 modern 795 #6,958

Geography

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Where Bladens are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Wolverhampton, Wellington, Wrockwardine, Eyton-on-the-Moors, Preston-on-the-Moors, Rowley Regis, Ilkeston and Darfield. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Barnsley, Cardiff and Torfaen. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Wolverhampton Staffordshire
2 Wellington, Wrockwardine, Eyton-on-the-Moors, Preston-on-the-Moors Shropshire
3 Rowley Regis Staffordshire
4 Ilkeston Nottinghamshire
5 Darfield Yorkshire, West Riding

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Barnsley 020 Barnsley
2 Cardiff 013 Cardiff
3 Torfaen 009 Torfaen
4 Barnsley 026 Barnsley
5 Barnsley 014 Barnsley

Forenames

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First names often paired with Bladen

These lists show first names that appear often with the Bladen surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Bladen

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Bladen, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Baseline UK

Group

Challenged Communities

Nationally, the Bladen surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Bladen household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Residents of these neighbourhoods typically live in households with dependent children, and there are fewer-than-average residents of normal retirement age or over. Identification with ethnic minorities, particularly Black, or Mixed or Multiple ethnicities is common. The rate of Christian religious affiliation is low. Housing predominantly consists of semi-detached houses, along with a significant number of terraced properties and flats. Overcrowded social housing is common, and private renting occurs at average UK levels. Those in employment work mainly in caring leisure and other services; process, plant and machine operation; or elementary occupations. Unemployment is high, and few individuals have degree level qualifications. Many of these neighbourhoods occur in commuter towns or less accessible areas of larger towns and cities.

Wider pattern

This Supergroup exemplifies the broad base to the UK’s social structure, encompassing as it does the average or modal levels of many neighbourhood characteristics, including all housing tenures, a range of levels of educational attainment and religious affiliations, and a variety of pre-retirement age structures. Yet, in combination, these mixes are each distinctive of the parts of the UK. Overall, terraced houses and flats are the most prevalent, as is employment in intermediate or low-skilled occupations. However, this Supergroup is also characterised by above average levels of unemployment and lower levels of use of English as the main language. Many neighbourhoods occur in south London and the UK’s other major urban centres.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Established Homeowners with Children

Within London, Bladen is most associated with areas classed as Established Homeowners with Children, part of Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These predominantly British-born residents are typically married/in civil partnerships and own the properties in which they are raising their children. Parents are typically over 45, and many other residents are beyond normal retirement age. Detached and semi-detached houses predominate and multiple car ownership is common.

Wider London pattern

These neighbourhoods house people of all ages, predominantly of White British or European extraction. Resident turnover is low. Religious affiliation is less common than average and tends to be Christian if expressed. Homeownership, typically of terraced houses, is common but use of the social rented sector is not. Employment is typically in professional, managerial and associate professional or technical occupations. There are few full-time students. Level 4 qualifications are common. More households lack dependent children than have them which, considered alongside low levels of crowding and over-all age structure, indicates that many households may be post child-rearing and in late middle age. Incidence of disability is low, as is residence in communal establishments.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Bladen is most concentrated in decile 6 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname near the middle of the scale.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

6
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Bladen falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Bladen is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 50-60 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

8
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Bladen, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Bladen

The surname Bladen is of English origin and can be traced back to the late 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "blæd" meaning "plant, fruit, or harvest" and "denu" meaning "valley". This suggests that the name may have initially been used to describe someone who lived in a fertile valley or near an abundant crop field.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1197, where a person named Richard de Bladene is mentioned. This indicates that the name was present in the region of Gloucestershire during the late 12th century.

The surname Bladen also appears in various historical documents and records throughout the following centuries. For instance, in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, there is a reference to a William de Bladene from Oxfordshire. Additionally, the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327 mention a John de Bladyn.

During the 14th century, the name began to appear in various spellings, such as Bladen, Bladon, and Bladyn. These variations were likely due to regional dialects and the inconsistencies in written records at the time.

One notable figure associated with the surname Bladen was Thomas Bladen (1618-1675), an English soldier and landowner from Leicestershire. He served as a colonel in the Royalist army during the English Civil War and was later granted lands in Virginia, where he established the Bladen family's presence in the American colonies.

Another prominent individual with this surname was Martin Bladen (1680-1746), an English politician and diplomat who served as Ambassador to Spain and later as a Member of Parliament. He played a significant role in negotiating the Treaty of Seville in 1729, which aimed to resolve territorial disputes between Britain and Spain.

In the 18th century, the surname Bladen was also associated with places like Bladen County in North Carolina, which was named after Martin Bladen, as well as the town of Bladensburg in Maryland, named after Thomas Bladen's son, Thomas Bladen Jr.

Other notable figures with the surname Bladen include William Bladen (1672-1718), an English merchant and member of the Council of Trade and Plantations, and Henrietta Bladen (1699-1781), an English novelist and playwright known for her works such as "The Memoirs of Eros Vinlove" and "The Prussian Heroine".

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Bladen families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Bladen surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Staffordshire leads with 115 Bladens recorded in 1881 and an index of 9.46x.

County Total Index
Staffordshire 115 9.46x
Shropshire 54 17.37x
Yorkshire 39 1.09x
Worcestershire 30 6.38x
Lancashire 21 0.49x
Surrey 21 1.20x
Warwickshire 17 1.87x
Durham 13 1.21x
Monmouthshire 13 5.00x
Glamorgan 12 1.91x
Middlesex 12 0.33x
Lanarkshire 6 0.52x
Kent 5 0.41x
Derbyshire 4 0.71x
Hampshire 2 0.27x
Ayrshire 1 0.37x
Cheshire 1 0.13x
Devon 1 0.13x
Royal Navy 1 2.33x
Sussex 1 0.16x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Stoke Upon Trent in Staffordshire leads with 21 Bladens recorded in 1881 and an index of 16.30x.

Place Total Index
Stoke Upon Trent 21 16.30x
Bermondsey 14 13.06x
Wellington 14 80.09x
Bilston 13 55.20x
Carlton In Barnsley 12 895.52x
Worcester St Peter 12 134.83x
Kidderminster Borough 11 39.99x
Wolverhampton 11 11.77x
Aston 10 4.00x
Llandaff 10 47.96x
Kingswinford 9 20.40x
Shifnal 9 106.64x
Barugh 8 265.78x
Sedgley 8 17.73x
Stone 8 51.48x
Birmingham 7 2.31x
Eyton Upon Wild Moors 7 1320.75x
Harborne 7 17.98x
Llanvihangel Llantarnam 7 141.13x
Southwick 7 69.03x
Chelsea London 6 5.53x
Chorlton On Medlock 6 8.84x
Govan 6 2.08x
Wroxeter 6 1000.00x
Barnsley 5 13.59x
Battersea 5 3.78x
Darlington 5 12.09x
Lilleshall 5 105.26x
Walsall Foreign 5 7.97x
Warrington 5 9.88x
Willenhall 5 21.97x
Dudley 4 7.00x
Featherstone 4 99.75x
Ormesby 4 41.71x
Rochester St Nicholas 4 104.71x
Rowley Regis 4 11.81x
Sandon 4 634.92x
Trentham 4 38.72x
Westminster St John 4 9.13x
Worsbrough 4 38.28x
Wrockwardine 4 58.48x
Burton Extra 3 43.04x
Castle Church 3 41.10x
Denby 3 174.42x
Stourbridge 3 24.81x
Upton Magna 3 526.32x
Worsley 3 11.39x
Amblecote 2 57.80x
Burton Upon Trent 2 7.03x
Camberwell 2 0.87x
Carnforth 2 85.11x
Cheslyn Hay 2 90.09x
Portsea 2 1.38x
Raglan 2 224.72x
Shrewsbury Holy Cross 2 58.14x
Trevethin 2 8.14x
Wolstanton 2 5.42x
Altofts 1 25.38x
Blackburn 1 0.88x
Boxgrove 1 113.64x
Broughton In Salford 1 2.56x
Buerton In Nantwich 1 172.41x
Cardiff St John 1 4.89x
Chepstow St Arvans 1 163.93x
Devonport 1 11.61x
Edgmond 1 29.24x
Harefield 1 54.05x
Kilwinning 1 11.49x
Kingstonupon Hull 1 34.97x
Lichfield St Mary 1 28.57x
Lower Darwen 1 17.83x
Madeley 1 8.77x
Milton In Milton 1 19.16x
Ratcliffe London 1 5.03x
Royal Navy 1 2.73x
St Woollos 1 3.44x
Stockton On Tees 1 1.94x
Tipton 1 2.69x
Ulverston 1 8.04x
Wem 1 21.60x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Bladen surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 38
Elizabeth 15
Sarah 14
Jane 7
Ann 6
Emma 6
Catherine 5
Emily 5
Eliza 4
Amelia 3
Ellen 3
Lydia 3
Martha 3
Annie 2
Caroline 2
Clara 2
Edith 2
Esther 2
Fanny 2
Frances 2
Hannah 2
Harriet 2
Louisa 2
Margaret 2
Margt. 2
Sophia 2
Amy 1
Anne 1
Bella 1
Charlotte 1
Deborah 1
Drucilla 1
Ellenetlasie 1
Evelyn 1
Feali 1
Florence 1
Gertrude 1
Grace 1
Hepheiza 1
Ida 1
John 1
Julia 1
Kate 1
Laura 1
Lewis 1
Linda 1
Lucy 1
Maria 1
Matilda 1
Sussanah 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Bladen surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
John 30
William 28
Thomas 21
George 14
Joseph 10
Charles 8
James 7
Henry 6
Samuel 6
Edward 4
Walter 4
Alfred 3
Benjamin 3
Richard 3
Robert 3
Edwin 2
Eli 2
Francis 2
Harry 2
Thos. 2
Wm. 2
Albert 1
Aurther 1
Chas 1
Cuthbert 1
Duncan 1
Edmund 1
Elisha 1
Epreham 1
Ezekill 1
Fredk. 1
Geo 1
Herbert 1
Joel 1
Levi 1
Lionel 1
Michael 1
Miles 1
Phillip 1
Rowland 1
Sam. 1
Stephen 1
Theophilus 1
Thos 1
W. 1

FAQ

Bladen surname: questions and answers

How common was the Bladen surname in 1881?

In 1881, 368 people were recorded with the Bladen surname. That placed it at #8,454 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Bladen surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 795 in 2016. That gives Bladen a modern rank of #6,958.

What does the Bladen surname mean?

An English habitational surname derived from the town of Bladen in Somerset.

What does the Bladen map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Bladen bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.