Here on the west coast nothing is ever called a cream ale
I've always been under the impression that a cream ale was brewed at cooler temps (almost lager temps) instead of wamer. I think I'll stick with that.
Regarding regional names, I can buy a half dozen cream ales, I can't think of any beer that I can get that is intentionally labelled "blond ale". Yes, there are lighter coloured ales but they aren't labelled blond.
Regarding the Black IPA thing that Dave brought up, I like the term that the lady on the Brewing Network used during the beer vocabulary episode "Bulls*** Hoppy Porters"