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

Boctor, 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 Boctor surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Boctor in America

Boctor is the 82044th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Boctor surname appeared 230 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 Boctor.

We can also compare 2010 data for Boctor 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 Boctor

The surname Boctor has its origins in the Middle East, specifically in Egypt. It is believed to have emerged during the 7th century AD, shortly after the Arab conquest of Egypt. The name is derived from the Arabic word "buqtur," which means "a religious leader" or "a learned person."

In the early days of Islam, the word "buqtur" was used to refer to Christian scholars and religious leaders who were respected for their knowledge and wisdom. As the Arab influence spread across Egypt, many Christian scholars adopted Arabic names or had their names Arabized.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Boctor can be found in a document from the 9th century, which mentions a scholar named Abul-Fadl Ja'far al-Boctor. This document suggests that the name had already gained recognition among the intellectual and religious circles of that era.

During the medieval period, the name Boctor was particularly prominent in the Coptic Christian community of Egypt. Several Coptic scholars and religious leaders bore this name, including Yuhannis al-Boctor, a renowned theologian who lived in the 12th century.

In the 15th century, a manuscript from the Monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai mentions a monk named Butrus al-Boctor, who was renowned for his expertise in manuscript illumination and calligraphy.

As the centuries passed, the name Boctor spread beyond Egypt to other parts of the Middle East and North Africa. In the 18th century, a prominent scholar and physician from Aleppo, Syria, named Mikhail al-Boctor, gained recognition for his contributions to medicine and philosophy.

Another notable figure was Ibrahim al-Boctor, a 19th-century Egyptian scholar and writer who played a significant role in the Arabic literary renaissance. His works on language, literature, and history are still widely studied and appreciated today.

In more recent times, the name Boctor has been associated with several prominent figures in various fields. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations (1992-1996), was born into a Coptic Christian family with the surname Boctor.

It is important to note that while the name Boctor has its roots in the Middle East, it has also found its way into other cultures and regions through migration and intermarriage. However, the core meaning and historical significance of the name remain closely tied to its Egyptian and Arabic origins.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Boctor

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

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 Boctor 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 Boctor 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 Boctor was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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