Blanc (surname)

Blanc is a romance surname from the Catalan, Francoprovençal and Occitan speaking areas of France, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland. It is also in use by Waldensian and Huguenot refugees in other countries, such as Germany.

Etymology and spelling
The name comes from Germanic Blank (light), that was adopted by most Romance languages to replace the Latin albus for white.

Francoprovençal and Occitan spelling is Blanc. Occitan used to change endings according to gender and number. Feminine is Blanca, often frenchised into Blanque or Blanche. Plural adds an s at the end.

Catalan spelling has long been Blanch, but is now spelt as Blanc. Some families keep using the old spelling.

Other romance languages use: Le Blanc (French, with article), Blanco (Spanish), Branco (Portuguese), Bianchi (Italian).

Notorious Blancs
Catalan:
 * Adolf Blanch i Cortada (Alacant, 1832 - Barcelona, 1887), poet, historian and journalist
 * Àngel Blanch i Reynalt (Castelló d'Empúries, 1907 - Montpeller, 1965), musician and compositor
 * Antoni Blanch i Xiró (Barcelona, 1929 - 2013), jesuit and humanist
 * Bartomeu Blanch i Castells (Monistrol de Montserrat, 1816 - Buenos Aires, 1890), organist, violinist, master of chapel and compositor
 * Berna Blanch i Chirivella (Catarroja, 1967), valencian writer
 * Daniel Blanch (Barcelona, 1974), pianista
 * Manuel Blanch i Puig (Mataró, 1827 - 1883), master of chapel
 * Miquel Blanch i Roig (Castellbisbal, 1889 - Barcelona, 1936), compositor, pianist
 * Ferran Blanch i Arché (Tortellà, 1904 - Barcelona, 1967), compositor
 * Joan Blanch i Rodríguez (1937), avocat and politician
 * Josep Blanch i Graells (Vilafranca del Penedès, 1775 - Vilafranca del Penedès, 1851), abbot of Montserrat
 * Josep Blanch i Reynalt (Castelló d'Empúries, 1888 - 1954), musician and compositor
 * Rafael Blanch i Via (Barcelona, 1933), musician and compositor
 * Xavier Blanch i Pla (Barcelona, 1918 — Madrid, 1999), painter

Francoprovençal:
 * (tbc)

Occitan:
 * Louis Blanc, French writer and politician