Place
Blankenship surname meaning
An English northern surname, a variant of Blenkinsop, habitational from Blenkinsopp in Northumberland.
The short story
Blankenship is an English northern American spelling of Blenkinsop, a habitational name from Blenkinsopp in Northumberland near the Scottish border. The place-name is usually explained from Brittonic elements for a ridge-top plus Old English hop, meaning a valley or enclosed hollow. Blankinship and Blakenship are sister American forms; Blenkinsopp keeps the older English spelling. Families carried the altered Blankenship spelling especially into the American South and Appalachia. Place is the catalog type, and the Blenkinsopp habitational origin is high confidence.
Also seen as: Blankenship, Blankinship, Blakenship, Blenkinsop, Blenkinsopp
Sources used
- Geneanet / DAFN entry for Blankenship (variant of Blenkinsop)
- Geneanet / DAFN entry for Blenkinsop (habitational from Blenkinsopp, Northumberland)
- Names2020_LastNames_RaceHispanic_Top1000.xlsx (2020 Census)