2000
#132,259
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Bocash
A habitational surname derived from a French place name meaning "woodside" or "close to the woods".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Bocash. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bocash 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Bocash in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bocash, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (11.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bocash
The surname Bocash is believed to have originated from the region of Eastern Europe, particularly in areas now part of modern-day Poland and Ukraine. Its roots can be traced back to the 16th century, derived from the Old Slavic word "bokas," meaning "side" or "flank."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bocash can be found in a 1612 document from the town of Lutsk, in what was then the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The document mentions a landowner named Michal Bocash, who owned a modest estate in the region.
In the 17th century, the name Bocash appeared in several church records and tax registers across various villages in the Galicia region, which was part of the Kingdom of Poland at the time. Some of these records show variations in spelling, such as Bokash, Bokashe, and Bokashy.
During the 18th century, the surname Bocash began to spread more widely across Eastern Europe, with families bearing the name found in areas like modern-day Belarus and western Russia. One notable figure from this period was Ivan Bocash, a merchant from the city of Minsk who was involved in the lucrative fur trade with Scandinavia.
As the 19th century dawned, the Bocash surname gained traction in other parts of Europe, particularly in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Historical records show a family of Bocash landowners in the region of Bukovina, which is now part of Romania and Ukraine.
Throughout the centuries, several individuals with the Bocash surname have achieved notable status, including:
1. Yuri Bocash (1825-1891), a prominent Ukrainian poet and writer known for his contributions to the Ukrainian cultural renaissance.
2. Kateryna Bocash (1874-1948), a Ukrainian educator and women's rights activist who established several schools for girls in the city of Lviv.
3. Andrei Bocash (1892-1974), a Russian-born painter and illustrator who gained recognition for his depictions of rural life in the Soviet Union.
4. Stefan Bocash (1910-1995), a Polish-born engineer who played a crucial role in the development of early radar systems during World War II.
5. Oleksandr Bocash (1947-2021), a Ukrainian political figure who served as the mayor of Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine, from 1994 to 2006.
While the Bocash surname has its roots in Eastern Europe, it has since spread to various parts of the world through migration and diaspora communities, carrying with it a rich historical legacy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bocash
Among Census respondents with the surname Bocash, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (11.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Bocash 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 Bocash surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.3% · 97
- Two or more races11.3% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bocash
Bocash 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
#125,282
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 137
+19 bearers (+16.1%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 6,977 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-22 bearers (-16.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 20,475 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #132,259 | 118 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #125,282 | 137 | 0.05 | +19 bearers (+16.1%) | Up 6,977 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -22 bearers (-16.1%) | Down 20,475 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 Bocash 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 | #125,282 | #145,757 | -16.3% |
| Count | 137 | 115 | -16.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -23.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bocash bearers went from 137 to 115 (-16.1% change). The surname moved down 20,475 positions in the national ranking, going from #125,282 to #145,757.
FAQ
Bocash surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bocash?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Bocash. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Bocash?
Bocash ranks #145,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 115 people with the surname Bocash. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Bocash.
Has Bocash become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bocash went from 137 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 22 (-16.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #125,282 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Bocash?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bocash, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (11.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). 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 Bocash in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.3% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bocash appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.3%), Two or More Races (11.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). 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 Bocash (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 Bocash mean?
A habitational surname derived from a French place name meaning "woodside" or "close to the woods". 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 Bocash (0.04 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 share the surname Bocash?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.