Blas
Masculine · “lisping”
Saint Blaise is invoked against diseases of the throat, and Catholic churches still bless throats on his feast day with two crossed candles. His name, from Latin blaesus, most likely means lisping or stammering. The saint who guards speech is named for a speech impediment.
How old is the name Blas?
Blas was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Blas alive today was born around 1974, making them about 51 years old. About 2,100 people named Blas are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Blas most popular?
Blas peaked in 1880, reaching #809 nationally. Today it ranks #6446, 5,637 places below that high. See the whole 1880 chart.
Where it comes from
From blaesus to Blas
The story of Blas
Blaise of Sebaste was a physician and bishop in Armenia martyred around 316, and the story that made him famous is a rescue: he is said to have saved a boy choking on a fishbone, which is why the blessing of throats on 3 February bears his name. His cult spread across Europe, and the name went with it into every Romance language; Spanish took it as Blas, Italian as Biagio, French as Blaise. In Spain and Latin America Blas is an ordinary if old-fashioned man's name, and it entered United States records with Spanish-speaking families. Its best year on file is 1880, at the very start of the record.
Meaningscholars disagree
lisping, stammering
The usual derivation is Latin blaesus, which describes someone who lisps or speaks indistinctly, itself borrowed from Greek blaisos. As a Roman cognomen it would have started as a physical nickname, like Balbus, the stutterer, or Cicero, the chickpea. A minority reading connects the name instead to a Greek word for kingly. The first is the standard account.
How the name formed
- blaesus
- Blasius
- Blas
Related forms: Blas · Blaise · Biagio · Bras · Vlaho
Pronouncing Blas
BLAHS
One syllable in Spanish, with an open a. English speakers say BLAS with the flat a of glass, which is the ordinary American adaptation.
Nicknames for Blas
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 198843 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #809reached in 1880
- Change vs 2023
- −31.6%13 in 2025, from 19
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Blas in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Blas in Spanish — same name
- Blaise in French — same name
- Biagio in Italian — same name
- Bras in Portuguese — same name
- Vlaho in Croatian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California.
Blass among us
people named Blas are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 131,390 born in 2025 was named Blas
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Blas sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Blas beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Blas in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- One syllable and four letters, with no spelling ambiguity in either language.
- A documented fourth-century saint with a feast still observed.
- Related to Blaise, which is well known in French and English.
- The likely meaning is a speech defect, which the saint's story does not cancel.
- In English it will be read with a flat American a rather than the Spanish one.
- It reads as an older generation's name across most of the Spanish-speaking world.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Blas to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Blas? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Blas
Masculine · #6446 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Blass are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,100 people named Blas are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Blas in 2025?
- Blas ranks #6446 among US boy names in 2025, with 13 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Blas?
- About 1 in every 131,390 US boys born in 2025 was named Blas — 13 in all.
- Will my child share the name Blas with classmates?
- Blas will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Blas
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Rollie#6446 · Billie#6446 · Worth#6446 · Starling#6446 · Alvis#6446 · Elwyn#6446 · Sal#6446 · Rollin#6446
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Blas? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Blas and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle