Boots
One who wears boots, often associated with ruggedness, utility or outdoorsmanship.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Boots. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 81.7% of registrations being female. The average person named Boots today is around 105 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Boots births was 1924 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Boots. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Boots is about 105 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Boots' were born before 1931.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Boots. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1924
14 babies that year
Average age
105
years old
1922 SSA rank
#2,827
Tracked since 1912
Census
Boots in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 153 people with the first name Boots, which placed it at #44,840 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#44,840
National first-name rank
People counted
153
153 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
66.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boots
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Boots is White at 66.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (20.3%) and Hispanic (4.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Boots described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Boots at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.0% · 101
- Asian and Pacific Islander20.3% · 31
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 7
- Black or African American3.9% · 6
- Two or more races3.3% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Boots
Boots leans heavily female at 81.7% of total registrations, but 28 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Boots as a male name
- Ranked #2,827 in 1922
- 10 male births in 1922
- Peak: 1922 (10 births)
Boots as a female name
- Ranked #3,868 in 1934
- 6 female births in 1934
- Peak: 1924 (14 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Boots on both sides of the split. Of the 160 people counted with this name, 70 were male (43.8%) and 90 were female (56.3%).
Popularity
Boots: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Boots from the 1910s through to the 1930s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 86 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Boots remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Boots 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 Boots during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Boots
The name Boots originates from the Middle English word "bote," which means a covering for the foot and leg, typically made of leather. This word is derived from the Old English "bót," meaning a remedy or relief, suggesting that boots were initially seen as a form of protection or comfort for the feet.
The name's earliest recorded use dates back to the 14th century, when it was commonly used as a nickname for individuals who made or wore boots. In medieval times, boots were associated with soldiers, knights, and other warriors, as they provided practical footwear for battle and long journeys.
One of the earliest notable figures with the name Boots was Sir John Boots, an English knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War during the 14th century. He earned his nickname for his skill in combat and his distinctive footwear.
In the 16th century, the name gained popularity among the common folk, particularly in rural areas where boots were essential for farming and outdoor work. William Boots, a farmer from Nottinghamshire, England, born in 1542, is recorded as one of the earliest commoners to bear the name.
During the 17th century, the name Boots became associated with the theater and entertainment industry. John Boots, an English actor and comedian who lived from 1604 to 1672, was renowned for his comedic roles and often played characters who wore boots on stage.
In the 19th century, the name gained further prominence with the rise of the Boot family, a wealthy English dynasty known for their successful boot-making business. John Boot, born in 1815, founded the company that would later become the Boots pharmacy chain.
Another notable figure with the name Boots was William Boots, an American cowboy and trick roper born in 1879. He gained fame for his performances in Wild West shows and is credited with popularizing the name among Western enthusiasts.
Throughout history, the name Boots has been associated with a rugged, practical, and down-to-earth image, reflecting its origins as a descriptor for footwear worn by those engaged in outdoor pursuits or manual labor.
People
Boots + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Boots 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
Boots: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Boots?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Boots 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Boots a common name?
We classify Boots as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 153 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Boots most popular?
The single biggest year for Boots was 1924, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Boots is about 105 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Boots in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 153 people with the name Boots, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,840 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Boots in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Boots?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Boots on both sides of the split. Of the 160 people counted with this name, 70 were male (43.8%) and 90 were female (56.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Boots?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Boots is White at 66.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (20.3%) and Hispanic (4.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Boots most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Boots in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.0% (101 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Boots in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Boots a female name?
Yes, 81.7% of people registered as Boots in the SSA data are female. 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.
Is Boots still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Boots in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Boots can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people have the name Boots?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Boots, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.