Block

Etymology

In English, Block is most often linked to the ordinary word for a block, lump, or log, and it may have begun either as an occupational name for someone who made or worked blocks, or as a topographic name for someone living by a block-like object or structure. The same surname also appears in continental forms, especially German and Dutch, where it can likewise relate to a block, log, or nicknaming use of the word. Some later German-Jewish surname forms are also associated with Block or related forms, though those are distinct naming histories in many cases.

History

In Britain, related medieval and early modern records show forms tied to trades such as block-making and block-hewing, and also to places or objects used as local landmarks. In German-speaking areas, Block and similar forms occur as nicknames or ordinary-word surnames, with closely related spellings such as Bloch appearing in older sources. The surname is therefore a small cluster of parallel origins rather than a single family line everywhere it appears.

Origin

Regions

Variant spellings

Fun fact

The same everyday word that gave rise to Block also produced older occupational surnames like Blocker, meaning a maker or worker of blocks.

Related surnames