2000
#4,595
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,063
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.62
Rare Last name
Boatwright
An occupational surname referring to a person who builds or repairs boats.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,833 Americans carry the last name Boatwright. That puts it at #4,982 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.29 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 43,758 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Boatwright 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Boatwright with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.8K
1 in 43,758
Census rank
#4,982
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,831 bearers of the surname Boatwright in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.29 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4982nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Boatwright, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.9%. The next largest groups are Black (33.0%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boatwright
The surname Boatwright is an occupational name that originated in England during the medieval period. It derived from the Old English words "bat" meaning boat and "wyrhta" meaning worker or maker, referring to a person who built or repaired boats for a living.
This surname first appeared in records from the 13th century, with one of the earliest recorded instances being Richard le Batwyrhte in the Hundredorum Rolls of Yorkshire in 1273. The name was also found in various forms such as Batewright, Batewyght, and Botewright during this time.
In the 14th century, the name Boatwright appeared in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in 1348, where a John Botewright was mentioned. The Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1379 also recorded a Thomas Batewright.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John Boatwright, who was born around 1520 in Harwich, Essex, England. He worked as a shipwright and was involved in the construction of several vessels for the English navy.
Another notable figure was William Boatwright, born in 1625 in Whitby, Yorkshire. He was a successful merchant and shipowner who played a role in the expansion of English trade in the 17th century.
In the 18th century, the Boatwright family established themselves in Virginia, United States, with the arrival of John Boatwright in 1735. He settled in Henrico County and became a prominent landowner.
One of the most famous individuals with this surname was John Thomas Boatwright (1835-1918), an influential Baptist minister and educator from Virginia. He served as the president of Richmond College (now the University of Richmond) from 1888 to 1899.
Another notable figure was Charles Boatwright (1849-1935), a Confederate veteran and lawyer from Virginia. He served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates and played a significant role in the state's political affairs during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
In the 20th century, Fredric Huntington Boatwright (1868-1951), an American educator and historian, made significant contributions to the field of education. He served as the president of the University of Richmond from 1899 to 1946, leading the institution through a period of growth and development.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boatwright
Among Census respondents with the surname Boatwright, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.9%. The next largest groups are Black (33.0%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Boatwright 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 Boatwright surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.9% · 3,957
- Black or African American33.0% · 2,254
- Two or more races4.7% · 320
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 224
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 45
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 31
Timeline
Historical Census data for Boatwright
Boatwright 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
#4,790
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,379
+316 bearers (+4.5%)
Per 100,000 2.50
Rank movement Down 195 places
2020
#4,982
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,831
-548 bearers (-7.4%)
Per 100,000 2.29
Rank movement Down 192 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,595 | 7,063 | 2.62 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,790 | 7,379 | 2.50 | +316 bearers (+4.5%) | Down 195 places |
| 2020 | #4,982 | 6,831 | 2.29 | -548 bearers (-7.4%) | Down 192 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 Boatwright 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 | #4,790 | #4,982 | -4.0% |
| Count | 7,379 | 6,831 | -7.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.50 | 2.29 | -8.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Boatwright bearers went from 7,379 to 6,831 (-7.4% change). The surname moved down 192 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,790 to #4,982.
FAQ
Boatwright surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Boatwright?
Name Census estimates that about 7,833 living Americans carry the surname Boatwright. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 43,758 residents.
How common is Boatwright?
Boatwright ranks #4,982 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.29 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 6,831 people with the surname Boatwright. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,833), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.29 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.29 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 Boatwright.
Has Boatwright become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Boatwright went from 7,379 recorded bearers to 6,831. That is a decrease of 548 (-7.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,790 to #4,982.
What does the Census say about the background of Boatwright?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boatwright, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.9%. The next largest groups are Black (33.0%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Boatwright in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.9% (3,957 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Boatwright appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (57.9%), Black (33.0%), Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Boatwright (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 Boatwright mean?
An occupational surname referring to a person who builds or repairs boats. 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 Boatwright (2.29 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 are called Boatwright?
Find out how common the surname Boatwright is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.