Given name & surname · also Old French
Blanche
“beautiful”
Blanche is used as a given name and a surname. One Old French and Germanic interpretation is “beautiful.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Old French and Germanic interpretation is “beautiful.”
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with Old French and Germanic naming traditions.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Blanche is a variant of Bianca. The history of Bianca gives this family its wider story. Shakespeare used Bianca in two Italian settings: she is Katharina’s sister in The Taming of the Shrew and another character in Othello. These literary associations sit alongside the name’s straightforward Italian word origin.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Blanche through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 87,648
- 223 boys · 87,425 girls
- Most popular year
- 1917
- 2,842 babies
- 2025
- 16
- #6,892 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +45%
- Rising
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 16 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 6,892 among girls’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for girls was 2,836 in 1917. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 11,370 as a first name in 2020; 1,125 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Blanche’s family of names
In French usage, Blanche shares a linguistic root with the Spanish form Blanca. Blanche has a related form in Bianca. Blanche shares a linguistic root with Bianca.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Blanche has relatives in 28 languages. Lines run from its Proto-Germanic roots to each of them.
21 related names in 28 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 19
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Blanche
- Blanche I of NavarreQueen regnant of Navarre and queen consort of Sicily1387–1441
- Blanche II of Navarreprincess of the House of Aragon and queen pretendent of Navarre1424–1464
- Blanche of Navarre, Queen of FranceFrench queen consort1331–1398
- Blanche of LancasterEnglish noblewoman and heiress, died 13681342–1368
- Blanche of BurgundyQueen of France and Navarre, first wife of King Charles IV1296–1326
- Blanche LincolnAmerican politicianborn 1960
- Blanche of NamurQueen consort of Norway and Sweden (1320–1363)
- Blanche SweetAmerican actress (1896–1986)
- Blanche of Artoisqueen of Navarre (1248-1302)
Characters named Blanche: Blanche DuBois (Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Blanche, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Zelma
“having divine protection”
>99% girls
Verona
“woman from Verona”
>99% girls
Lola
“tulip”
>99% girls
Geraldine
“one who rules with the spear”
>99% girls
Adele
“of the nobility; serene; of good humor”
>99% girls
Alyce
“noble” · “kind”
>99% girls
Santa
“helper and defender of mankind” · “a holy man”
>99% girls
Jeannette
Jeannette is used as a given name and a surname. Jeannette is connected with Jeanne.
>99% girls