Bostyn
A masculine name potentially derived from the English place name Boston.
Name Census estimates that about 976 living Americans carry the first name Bostyn. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 71.0% of registrations being female. The average person named Bostyn today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bostyn births was 2016 (77 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bostyn. 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
976
~ 1 in 351,183 Americans
Peak year
2016
77 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,336
Tracked since 2003
Census
Bostyn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 638 people with the first name Bostyn, which placed it at #17,339 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
#17,339
National first-name rank
People counted
638
638 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bostyn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bostyn is White at 75.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.6%) and Two or More Races (6.9%). 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 Bostyn 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 Bostyn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.7% · 483
- Hispanic or Latino8.6% · 55
- Two or more races6.9% · 44
- Black or African American6.3% · 40
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Bostyn
Bostyn is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 983 total registrations, 285 (29.0%) were male and 698 (71.0%) were female.
Bostyn as a male name
- Ranked #4,898 in 2024
- 20 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2013 (20 births)
Bostyn as a female name
- Ranked #3,336 in 2024
- 47 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2016 (61 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Bostyn on both sides of the split. Of the 644 people counted with this name, 194 were male (30.1%) and 450 were female (69.9%).
Popularity
Bostyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bostyn from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 569 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Bostyn remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bostyn 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 Bostyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Bostyns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Utah, Texas, Oklahoma recorded the most babies named Bostyn, while Idaho, Illinois, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 36 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Bostyn
The name Bostyn is believed to have its origins in the ancient Germanic languages, with roots that can be traced back to the 5th century AD. It is thought to be a combination of the Proto-Germanic words "boz" and "styn," meaning "bright" and "stone" respectively. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to a person who lived near or worked with bright, shining stones, perhaps as a gemstone cutter or jeweler.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bostyn can be found in the Frankish chronicles of the 8th century, where it is mentioned as the name of a skilled artisan who was commissioned to create intricate metalwork for the royal court. This suggests that the name had already gained some prominence by that time, likely among craftsmen and those involved in the production of valuable goods.
In the 11th century, a monk named Bostyn of Cologne was renowned for his illuminated manuscripts, which featured ornate illustrations and calligraphy adorned with precious stones and metals. His works were highly sought after by wealthy patrons and religious institutions across Europe, further cementing the name's association with skilled artisanship and the creation of beautiful objects.
During the Renaissance period, a Italian painter named Bostyn Alighieri (1458-1524) gained recognition for his vibrant frescoes and portraits, which often depicted scenes from classical mythology and featured intricate details and rich colors. His works can still be found adorning the walls of various churches and palaces throughout Italy.
Another notable figure was Bostyn Stonesmith (1673-1741), an English stonemason and architect who was instrumental in the design and construction of several iconic buildings in London, including St. Paul's Cathedral. His innovative techniques and attention to detail in working with stone earned him widespread acclaim and helped establish the name as a symbol of craftsmanship and artistic talent.
In more recent history, Bostyn Wainwright (1878-1962) was a renowned American jeweler and gemologist, whose expertise in identifying and cutting precious stones made him a respected authority in his field. His intricate designs and masterful craftsmanship earned him numerous accolades and commissions from prestigious clients around the world.
People
Bostyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bostyn 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
Bostyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bostyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 976 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bostyn 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 351,183 US residents.
Is Bostyn a common name?
We classify Bostyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 983 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bostyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Bostyn was 2016, when 77 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bostyn is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Bostyn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 638 people with the name Bostyn, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,339 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 Bostyn 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 Bostyn?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Bostyn on both sides of the split. Of the 644 people counted with this name, 194 were male (30.1%) and 450 were female (69.9%). 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 Bostyn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bostyn is White at 75.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.6%) and Two or More Races (6.9%). 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 Bostyn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Bostyn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.7% (483 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 Bostyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bostyn a female name?
Yes, 71.0% of people registered as Bostyn 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 Bostyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bostyn 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 Bostyn 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 are named Bostyn?
Want to know how many Americans are named Bostyn? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.