NameCensus.

UK surname

Blick

A surname likely of German origin referring to someone with keen eyesight or vision.

In the 1881 census there were 440 people recorded with the Blick surname, ranking it #7,440 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 673, ranked #7,962, down from #7,440 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Minchinhampton and Studley. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Stratford-on-Avon, Stroud and Ashfield.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Blick is 734 in 2003. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 53.0%.

1881 census count

440

Ranked #7,440

Modern count

673

2016, ranked #7,962

Peak year

2003

734 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Blick had 440 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #7,440 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 673 in 2016, ranked #7,962.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 688 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Blick surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Blick surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Blick 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 340 #6,905
1861 historical 333 #7,646
1881 historical 440 #7,440
1891 historical 503 #7,395
1901 historical 559 #7,443
1911 historical 688 #6,165
1997 modern 699 #7,254
1998 modern 719 #7,320
1999 modern 732 #7,274
2000 modern 706 #7,441
2001 modern 703 #7,344
2002 modern 730 #7,255
2003 modern 734 #7,121
2004 modern 705 #7,350
2005 modern 667 #7,633
2006 modern 656 #7,745
2007 modern 672 #7,680
2008 modern 695 #7,529
2009 modern 712 #7,539
2010 modern 710 #7,700
2011 modern 723 #7,512
2012 modern 697 #7,631
2013 modern 708 #7,662
2014 modern 718 #7,630
2015 modern 703 #7,693
2016 modern 673 #7,962

Geography

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Where Blicks are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Minchinhampton, Studley, Stroud, Whaddon, Longney, Brookthorpe, Harescombe, Haresfield, Standish, Moreton Valence, Saul, Fret and Birmingham Town: Birmingham. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Stratford-on-Avon, Stroud and Ashfield. 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 London parishes London 3
2 Minchinhampton Gloucestershire
3 Studley Warwickshire
4 Stroud, Whaddon, Longney, Brookthorpe, Harescombe, Haresfield, Standish, Moreton Valence, Saul, Fret Gloucestershire
5 Birmingham Town: Birmingham Warwickshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Stratford-on-Avon 003 Stratford-on-Avon
2 Stroud 006 Stroud
3 Stroud 007 Stroud
4 Stroud 004 Stroud
5 Ashfield 006 Ashfield

Forenames

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First names often paired with Blick

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Blick

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Blick, 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

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Blick surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Blick household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Blick is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. 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

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Blick is most concentrated in decile 2 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy end of the index.

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

2
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Blick falls in decile 8 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

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

8
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Blick is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

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

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

Meaning and origin of Blick

The surname Blick originated in Germany, where it first appeared around the 12th century. It is derived from the Middle Low German word "blik," meaning "glance" or "gaze." This surname was likely given to someone with a distinctive or piercing gaze.

In early records, the name appeared with various spellings, including Blick, Blicke, and Blycke. It was common for surnames to evolve from descriptive nicknames during the Middle Ages, as people adopted hereditary surnames.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Blick can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, where a person named Heinrich Blick was mentioned in 1292.

The name also appeared in the Bürgerschaftsbücher (citizen books) of various German cities, such as Hamburg and Lübeck, during the 14th and 15th centuries. These records often listed occupations, and some Blicks were identified as merchants or tradesmen.

In the 16th century, a notable figure with the surname Blick was Hans Blick, a German painter and engraver who was active in Nuremberg between 1530 and 1550. His works included woodcuts and engravings depicting biblical scenes and illustrations for books.

Another historical figure was Johann Blick, a German theologian and writer from Saxony who lived from 1635 to 1701. He authored several religious works and served as a pastor in various churches.

In the 18th century, Johann Friedrich Blick (1716-1782) was a German composer and organist from Saxony. He composed church cantatas and other sacred works, and served as the organist at the Kreuzkirche in Dresden.

In the 19th century, Carl Blick (1826-1895) was a German-American painter and lithographer. He emigrated to the United States in the 1850s and settled in New York City, where he worked as a portrait painter and lithographer for various publications.

The surname Blick also appeared in England, where it was likely introduced by German immigrants. One notable English figure was Sir Charles Blick (1855-1944), a businessman and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Deptford from 1906 to 1918.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Blick families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Blick 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. Warwickshire leads with 90 Blicks recorded in 1881 and an index of 8.33x.

County Total Index
Warwickshire 90 8.33x
Gloucestershire 85 10.12x
Worcestershire 45 8.05x
Somerset 35 5.08x
Surrey 28 1.34x
Middlesex 25 0.58x
Staffordshire 22 1.52x
Buckinghamshire 20 7.73x
Wiltshire 15 3.96x
Kent 13 0.89x
Dorset 11 3.91x
Lancashire 10 0.20x
Northamptonshire 10 2.48x
Berkshire 7 2.18x
Oxfordshire 5 1.89x
Hertfordshire 4 1.36x
Monmouthshire 3 0.97x
Devon 2 0.22x
Norfolk 2 0.30x
Sussex 2 0.28x
Yorkshire 2 0.05x
Derbyshire 1 0.15x
Essex 1 0.12x
Hampshire 1 0.11x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Minchinhampton in Gloucestershire leads with 27 Blicks recorded in 1881 and an index of 403.59x.

Place Total Index
Minchinhampton 27 403.59x
Aston 22 7.40x
Birmingham 19 5.28x
Lambeth 15 4.02x
Stroud 15 91.80x
Bedminster 12 18.53x
Studley 12 259.74x
Lewisham 11 14.12x
Stonehouse 11 230.61x
Great Marlow 9 128.76x
Kinson 9 163.93x
Tellisford 9 7500.00x
Stourbridge 8 55.59x
Acton 7 27.89x
Broad Chalk 7 648.15x
Cookham 7 69.86x
Hardingstone 7 182.29x
Nuneaton 7 55.96x
Dodderhill 6 252.10x
Farleigh Hungerford 6 2222.22x
Gloucester St Catherine 6 253.16x
Hambleden 6 271.49x
Handsworth 6 16.84x
Oldbury 6 21.81x
Redditch 6 52.91x
St Pancras London 6 1.74x
Avening 5 168.35x
Balsall 5 295.86x
Harborne 5 10.79x
Harbury 5 285.71x
Hulme 5 4.71x
Isleworth 5 26.26x
Islip 5 568.18x
Kingswinford 5 9.53x
Newington 5 3.16x
West Bromwich 5 6.04x
Berkeley 4 85.65x
Claines 4 26.06x
Dunchurch 4 272.11x
Exhall 4 243.90x
Gloucester Barton St Mary 4 26.02x
Hampton In Arden 4 421.05x
Kingstanley 4 129.03x
Whistones 4 98.77x
Ashton Under Lyne 3 2.70x
Camberwell 3 1.10x
Dudley 3 4.41x
Feckenham 3 46.88x
Froxfield 3 468.75x
Llangattock Llingoed 3 1153.85x
North Bradley 3 108.70x
Wellingborough 3 14.81x
Chipping Barnet 2 38.76x
Clevedon 2 27.89x
Devonport 2 19.53x
Eastington 2 71.94x
Hornsey 2 3.69x
Horsley 2 53.76x
Ipsley 2 101.01x
Kensington London 2 0.84x
Kings Norton 2 3.99x
Leeds 2 0.83x
Parkstone 2 60.98x
Road 2 238.10x
Salford 2 1.34x
Saunderton 2 322.58x
Shipley 2 121.95x
Southwark St Saviour 2 9.09x
Wheathampstead 2 58.65x
Wramplingham 2 740.74x
Cheltenham 1 1.54x
Crayford 1 15.67x
Croydon 1 0.86x
Epsom 1 9.83x
Gloucester St John Baptist 1 18.45x
Portsmouth 1 4.95x
Semington 1 161.29x
Stoneleigh 1 55.87x
Stretton On Dunsmore 1 101.01x
Walcot 1 2.72x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 18
Sarah 16
Elizabeth 14
Eliza 11
Emma 10
Emily 8
Louisa 8
Alice 7
Ann 7
Anne 6
Annie 6
Ada 5
Harriett 5
Jane 5
Martha 5
Rose 5
Caroline 4
Fanny 4
Jessie 4
Margaret 4
Ellen 3
Charlotte 2
Edith 2
Gertrude 2
Jemima 2
Lizzie 2
Minnie 2
Selina 2
Sophia 2
Agnes 1
Bertha 1
Bridget 1
Carraline 1
Catherine 1
Elisabeth 1
Elizebath 1
Flora 1
Florence 1
Frances 1
Isabel 1
Isabella 1
Jemina 1
Justina 1
Katherine 1
Kiturah 1
Laura 1
Lavinia 1
Leah 1
Louise 1
Tabetha 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 22
John 21
Charles 16
Henry 15
George 14
Alfred 11
Thomas 11
Albert 8
Arthur 8
Joseph 8
Benjamin 6
Edwin 6
Robert 6
Frank 5
Ernest 4
Harry 4
James 4
Walter 4
Richard 3
Abraham 2
Andrew 2
David 2
Enoch 2
Frederick 2
Fredrick 2
Job 2
Percy 2
Samuel 2
Anthony 1
Archie 1
Eli 1
Geo.Thos. 1
Gilbert 1
Graham 1
Heny 1
Herbert 1
Isaac 1
J. 1
Jabez 1
Jno. 1
Joanna 1
Jonathan 1
Jospeh 1
Leonard 1
Peter 1
R. 1
Saml. 1
Solomon 1
Sydney 1
Wm.Geo. 1

FAQ

Blick surname: questions and answers

How common was the Blick surname in 1881?

In 1881, 440 people were recorded with the Blick surname. That placed it at #7,440 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Blick surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 673 in 2016. That gives Blick a modern rank of #7,962.

What does the Blick surname mean?

A surname likely of German origin referring to someone with keen eyesight or vision.

What does the Blick map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Blick 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.