2000
#5,579
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,711
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.12
Rare Last name
Boatright
A surname referring to a person who builds or operates boats or lives near a boat landing.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,227 Americans carry the last name Boatright. That puts it at #6,077 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.82 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 55,043 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Boatright 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
6.2K
1 in 55,043
Census rank
#6,077
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,430 bearers of the surname Boatright in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.82 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6077th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Boatright, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.9%. The next largest groups are Black (6.4%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boatright
The surname Boatright originates from England and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English words "bat" meaning boat and "riht" meaning right or privilege. This suggests the name may have been given to someone who had the right or privilege to operate or own a boat, perhaps for fishing or transportation purposes.
The earliest recorded instance of the name appears in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1166, where it is spelled "Baterihte". Similar spellings like "Batright" and "Bateright" can be found in various medieval records across England.
In the Hundred Rolls of 1273, a man named John Baterihte is listed as residing in Lincolnshire. This is one of the earliest known individuals to bear the name.
The Boatright surname is also associated with certain place names in England. For example, the village of Boatright in Derbyshire likely took its name from the surname, indicating that a family with this name may have resided there or owned land in the area.
One notable individual with the Boatright surname was Sir William Boatright (1542-1612), a prominent merchant and member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers in London during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
Another person of historical significance was John Boatright (1677-1743), a wealthy landowner and member of Parliament for the county of Essex in the early 18th century.
In the 19th century, Sarah Boatright (1814-1892) was a well-known author and advocate for women's rights, publishing several influential works on the subject.
Edward Boatright (1861-1923) was a respected scholar and professor of English literature at Columbia University in New York.
Lastly, James Boatright (1901-1977) was a renowned folklorist and author who made significant contributions to the study of American folklore and published numerous books on the subject.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boatright
Among Census respondents with the surname Boatright, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.9%. The next largest groups are Black (6.4%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Boatright 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 Boatright surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.9% · 4,610
- Black or African American6.4% · 345
- Two or more races3.8% · 206
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 192
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 55
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 22
Timeline
Historical Census data for Boatright
Boatright 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
#6,062
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,659
-52 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 1.92
Rank movement Down 483 places
2020
#6,077
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,430
-229 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 1.82
Rank movement Down 15 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,579 | 5,711 | 2.12 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,062 | 5,659 | 1.92 | -52 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 483 places |
| 2020 | #6,077 | 5,430 | 1.82 | -229 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 15 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 Boatright 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 | #6,062 | #6,077 | -0.2% |
| Count | 5,659 | 5,430 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.92 | 1.82 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Boatright bearers went from 5,659 to 5,430 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 15 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,062 to #6,077.
FAQ
Boatright surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Boatright?
Name Census estimates that about 6,227 living Americans carry the surname Boatright. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 55,043 residents.
How common is Boatright?
Boatright ranks #6,077 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.82 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,430 people with the surname Boatright. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,227), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.82 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.82 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Boatright.
Has Boatright become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Boatright went from 5,659 recorded bearers to 5,430. That is a decrease of 229 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,062 to #6,077.
What does the Census say about the background of Boatright?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boatright, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.9%. The next largest groups are Black (6.4%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Boatright in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.9% (4,610 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Boatright appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.9%), Black (6.4%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Boatright (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 Boatright mean?
A surname referring to a person who builds or operates boats or lives near a boat landing. 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 Boatright (1.82 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 people have the surname Boatright?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.