Find out how popular the last name Boas is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Boas.

Boas, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Boas surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Boas in America

Boas is the 27144th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Boas surname appeared 892 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Boas.

We can also compare 2010 data for Boas to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Boas

The surname Boas has its origins in the Netherlands and Germany, with the earliest records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the Dutch word "bos," meaning forest or woods. This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near or worked in a forested area.

One of the earliest known references to the Boas surname can be found in the Dutch town of Bois-le-Duc, which was formerly known as 's-Hertogenbosch. Records from the late 16th century mention individuals with the surname Boas residing in this region.

In Germany, the name Boas is thought to have originated from the Low German term "Boh," which also means forest or wooded area. Early records from the 17th century show individuals with the surname Boas living in various parts of northern Germany, particularly in the regions of Lower Saxony and Westphalia.

Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the Boas surname appears in various historical documents and records across Europe. One notable example is the mention of a Johann Boas in the records of the Thirty Years' War, a conflict that ravaged parts of Central Europe from 1618 to 1648.

In the 19th century, several individuals with the Boas surname gained prominence in various fields. One such individual was Franz Boas (1858-1942), a German-American anthropologist who is often referred to as the "Father of American Anthropology." He made significant contributions to the study of culture and linguistics.

Another notable figure was Ernst Boas (1835-1900), a German mathematician and academic who is remembered for his work in the field of differential equations and the theory of functions.

Other historical figures with the Boas surname include Max Boas (1891-1980), a German-American mathematician known for his contributions to complex analysis, and Walter Boas (1904-1982), an American mathematician and academic who specialized in functional analysis.

Additionally, the surname Boas has been associated with various place names throughout Europe, such as Boasville, a small village in the Netherlands, and Boasrode, a former municipality in Belgium.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Boas

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Boas.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Boas was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Boas has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Boas was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Boas, please contact us.

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