Boe
Unusual English name of undetermined origin and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 1,042 living Americans carry the first name Boe. It is a predominantly male name (97.9% of registrations). The average person named Boe today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Boe births was 2021 (42 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Boe. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.0K
~ 1 in 328,939 Americans
Peak year
2021
42 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,522
Tracked since 1971
Gender
Gender distribution for Boe
Boe leans heavily male at 97.9% of total registrations, but 22 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Boe as a male name
- Ranked #3,522 in 2024
- 32 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2015 (40 births)
Boe as a female name
- Ranked #15,688 in 2022
- 5 female births in 2022
- Peak: 2013 (7 births)
Popularity
Boe: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Boe from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 349 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Boe remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Boe by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Boe during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Boes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Ohio, Minnesota, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Boe, while Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Boe
The name Boe is believed to have its origins in the Old Norse language, which was spoken by the Germanic peoples of Scandinavia during the Viking Age, around the 8th to 11th centuries. It is thought to be derived from the Old Norse word "bóandi," meaning "dweller" or "inhabitant."
One of the earliest known references to the name Boe can be found in the Icelandic sagas, which are prose narratives that were written in the 13th and 14th centuries. These sagas often featured characters with names derived from Old Norse words, and it is likely that the name Boe appeared in some of these texts.
The name Boe was not uncommon among the Vikings and other Norse peoples, as it reflected their connection to the land and their identity as settlers or inhabitants of a particular region. Over time, the name spread to other parts of Europe and the world as the Vikings and other Norse peoples migrated and settled in new areas.
One notable historical figure who bore the name Boe was Boe Biörn Ironside, a legendary Viking warrior who lived in the late 10th century. According to Norse sagas, Boe Biörn was known for his incredible strength and bravery in battle, and he played a pivotal role in many of the Vikings' conquests and explorations.
Another famous bearer of the name Boe was Boe Finnsson, a Norwegian explorer who lived in the 12th century. Boe Finnsson is credited with being one of the first Europeans to reach Greenland and establish a settlement there, paving the way for future Norse colonization of the region.
In the 15th century, there was a Dutch artist named Boe Hendricksen who was renowned for his intricate woodcarvings and sculptures. Boe Hendricksen's work can still be seen in various churches and museums throughout the Netherlands and other parts of Europe.
Boe Sigurdsson was a prominent Icelandic chieftain and lawspeaker in the 10th century. He played a significant role in the establishment of the Althing, which was one of the world's oldest surviving parliamentary institutions and an important part of Iceland's cultural and political history.
Finally, Boe Svensson was a Swedish explorer and cartographer who lived in the 17th century. He is best known for his detailed maps of the Arctic regions, which were instrumental in facilitating further exploration and trade in those areas.
People
Boe + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Boe as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Boe: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Boe?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,042 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Boe going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 328,939 US residents.
Is Boe a common name?
We classify Boe as "Rare". It ranks above 90.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,065 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Boe most popular?
The single biggest year for Boe was 2021, when 42 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Boe is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Boe a male name?
Yes, 97.9% of people registered as Boe in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.