2000
#24,083
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 977
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.36
Rare Last name
Boarman
An archaic occupational surname referring to one who tended or hunted boars.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,210 Americans carry the last name Boarman. That puts it at #24,678 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.35 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 283,268 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Boarman surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
1.2K
1 in 283,268
Census rank
#24,678
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,055 bearers of the surname Boarman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.35 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 24678th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Boarman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boarman
The surname Boarman is believed to have originated in England during the late medieval period, likely derived from the Old English words "bar" and "mann," which together translate to "boar man" or someone who worked with or hunted wild boars. It is a occupational surname, indicating the trade or profession of the original bearer.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Bedfordshire from 1309, where a William Bareman is listed. This spelling variation suggests that the name may have initially been pronounced with a soft "a" sound before evolving into its modern form.
In the 15th century, the name appeared in various records from the counties of Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, with entries such as John Boreman (1446) and Robert Borman (1479). These spellings further illustrate the fluidity of surname spellings during that era.
The Boarman surname is also associated with several place names in England, such as Borman's Green in Buckinghamshire and Borman's Croft in Oxfordshire, indicating that families bearing this name may have been landowners or resided in these areas.
One notable historical figure with the surname Boarman was Sir John Boarman (1533-1593), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Cricklade in Wiltshire during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
Another prominent individual was William Boarman (1671-1726), a wealthy merchant and ship owner from Bristol, who was involved in the transatlantic trade and owned several plantations in the West Indies.
In the 18th century, the Boarman family had a strong presence in the county of Yorkshire, where John Boarman (1709-1784) was a successful landowner and farmer, and his son, Thomas Boarman (1745-1821), was a respected local magistrate.
During the 19th century, the Boarman surname spread to other parts of the British Isles, with notable individuals including Robert Boarman (1801-1877), a Scottish minister and author, and James Boarman (1829-1903), an Irish entrepreneur who founded a successful textile manufacturing company in Belfast.
The Boarman name has also been recorded in various parts of Europe, suggesting that families bearing this surname may have migrated or descended from English ancestors. For example, records show Boarmans residing in the Netherlands, Germany, and France as early as the 17th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boarman
Among Census respondents with the surname Boarman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Boarman bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Boarman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.6% · 966
- Two or more races3.0% · 32
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 23
- Black or African American2.0% · 21
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Boarman
Boarman appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#27,804
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 864
-113 bearers (-11.6%)
Per 100,000 0.29
Rank movement Down 3,721 places
2020
#24,678
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,055
+191 bearers (+22.1%)
Per 100,000 0.35
Rank movement Up 3,126 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #24,083 | 977 | 0.36 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #27,804 | 864 | 0.29 | -113 bearers (-11.6%) | Down 3,721 places |
| 2020 | #24,678 | 1,055 | 0.35 | +191 bearers (+22.1%) | Up 3,126 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Boarman surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #27,804 | #24,678 | 11.2% |
| Count | 864 | 1,055 | 22.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.29 | 0.35 | 21.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Boarman bearers went from 864 to 1,055 (+22.1% change). The surname moved up 3,126 positions in the national ranking, going from #27,804 to #24,678.
FAQ
Boarman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Boarman?
Name Census estimates that about 1,210 living Americans carry the surname Boarman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 283,268 residents.
How common is Boarman?
Boarman ranks #24,678 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.35 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,055 people with the surname Boarman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,210), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.35 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.35 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Boarman.
Has Boarman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Boarman went from 864 recorded bearers to 1,055. That is an increase of 191 (+22.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #27,804 to #24,678.
What does the Census say about the background of Boarman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boarman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.2%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Boarman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.6% (966 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Boarman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.6%), Two or More Races (3.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.2%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Boarman (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Boarman mean?
An archaic occupational surname referring to one who tended or hunted boars. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Boarman (0.35 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Boarman?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.