BLOW
Blow is a surname of English provenance which derives from the Old English word blaw meaning "to blow". The appellation originally served as a nickname for an individual of a forceful or determined disposition, or alternatively for a person who played a wind instrument. The name is relatively uncommon and is predominantly found within the southern counties of England.
The surname is also regarded as a patronymic form of Blower, an occupational name for an artisan who operated bellows in a forge or supplied wind for a church organ, or for a huntsman or musician who blew a horn. The Middle English form blowere (12th–15th century) originates from the Olde English pre‑7th‑century word blawan, and gave rise to the modern surnames Blow, Bloor, Blower and the patronymic plural Blowers. Earliest documented spellings appear in 1199 in the Pipe Rolls of Surrey, where a William le Blowerre is recorded, and in the Assize Rolls of Kent in 1327 where Reginald le Blawere is mentioned.
In the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, parish registers across London record the christening of a son of James and Martha Blowers in 1661 and the marriage of Obadiah Blowers and Ann Lavson in 1667, providing further evidence of the name’s prevalence in the capital. A heraldic grant accords the family a gold shield emblazoned with a red two‑headed eagle, a symbol often associated with families bearing the name Blow or its derivatives.
The linguistic evidence also suggests that the surname may at times have been linked to physical characteristics; some scholars connect it to the Old English word blac meaning "pale" or "fair", thereby referring to a person with a pale complexion. Other interpretations propose a topographical origin, describing a resident of a wind‑swept hillock or mound called a blawe. These differing semantic strands demonstrate the complexity inherent in tracing the precise lineage of the surname.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the surname was concentrated in the southern and eastern regions of England, with documented occurrences such as Robert Blowe in Norfolk’s Pipe Rolls in 1191. Over time the spelling varied, appearing as Blowe, Bloowe, Blowes and occasionally as Bloor(e).
In more recent history, bearers of the surname emigrated to the United States, where the name is now fairly common. Prominent modern individuals include the British artist and educator Sandra Blow and the American journalist Charles M. Blow, both of whom have contributed to the visibility of the name beyond its Anglo‑Saxon roots.
Typical given names associated with the Blow surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- James
- John
- Matthew
- Michael
- Nicholas
- Peter
- Richard
- Stephen
Female
- Anna
- Barbara
- Bridget
- Catherine
- Claire
- Elizabeth
- Helen
- Julie
- Katherine
- Margaret
- Mary
- Sarah
- Shirley
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Blow in...
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There are approximately 1,685 people named Blow in the UK. That makes it roughly the 4,862nd most common surname in Britain. Around 26 in a million people in Britain are named Blow.
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Blow
- Claus von Bülow - Socialite (1926 to 2019)
- Isabella Blow - Magazine editor, stylist, actress, model (1958 to 2007)
- Sandra Blow - Artist (1925 to 2006)
- Detmar Blow - Architect (1867 to 1939)
- David Mervyn Blow - Biophysicist (1931 to 2004)
- Corkie Blow - Football player (1877 to 1938)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.