| Blake | Sawyer | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | black OR pale — genuinely opposite meanings | Woodcutter |
| Origin | english | English |
| Gender | Unisex | Unisex |
| Pronunciation | BLAYK | SOY-er |
| Syllables | 1 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1883 | 1913 |
| Peak year | 2012 (6,047) | 2015 (4,272) |
| In 2025 | 1,080 | 2,941 |
| Trend | Declining | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Blake | Sawyer |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 9,021 | 17,914 |
| 2010s | 41,721 | 34,031 |
| 2000s | 50,109 | 10,153 |
| 1990s | 45,873 | 3,453 |
| 1980s | 25,398 | 275 |
| 1970s | 5,443 | 5 |
| 1960s | 4,721 | 0 |
| 1950s | 2,594 | 0 |
| 1940s | 583 | 0 |
| 1930s | 320 | 0 |
| 1920s | 414 | 0 |
| 1910s | 260 | 7 |
| 1900s | 45 | 0 |
| 1890s | 37 | 0 |
| 1880s | 19 | 0 |
From two Old English words that fell together in Middle English: 'blaec' meaning 'black, dark' and 'blac' meaning 'pale, fair'. This produces a true opposite-meaning dispute, and for any given bearer it is usually impossible to tell which sense was meant.
An English occupational surname, “one who saws wood.”
Sawyer is more popular than Blake today: about 2,941 US babies were given the name Sawyer in 2025, compared with 1,080 named Blake.
Blake means black OR pale — genuinely opposite meanings (english origin), while Sawyer means Woodcutter (English origin).
In US records, Blake first appears in 1883 and Sawyer in 1913, so Blake has the longer recorded history.