2000
#148,244
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Boday
An Old French surname originating as a place name referring to someone from Bodaye.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Boday. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Boday 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Boday in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Boday, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.8%) and Two or More Races (7.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boday
The surname Boday is believed to have originated in the coastal regions of northern France during the 11th century. It is thought to derive from the Old French word "bodai," which referred to a type of small sailing vessel commonly used for fishing or transportation along the coastline.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Saint-Père de Chartres, a medieval manuscript dating back to the late 12th century. This document mentions a certain "Guillelmus Bodai," who was likely a fisherman or sailor from the region.
In the 13th century, variations of the name, such as "Bodey" and "Bodaie," began appearing in official records and tax rolls across Normandy and Brittany. These spellings suggest a connection to the place names "Bodaye" and "Bodaies," which were small coastal villages and fishing hamlets in those regions.
The earliest known individual with the surname Boday was Jean Boday, born around 1315 in the village of Bodaye, near the town of Dieppe in Normandy. He was a merchant and shipowner who traded goods along the English Channel.
Another notable figure was Pierre Boday (c. 1480-1551), a French navigator and explorer from Brittany who sailed with Jacques Cartier on his voyages to the New World in the early 16th century.
In the 17th century, the name appears to have spread to other parts of Europe, with records showing a Thomas Boday (1622-1687) who was a merchant and landowner in the Netherlands.
During the 18th century, a branch of the family established itself in England, with the birth of William Boday (1710-1782), a successful businessman and shipowner based in the port city of Bristol.
The 19th century saw the emergence of a prominent artist and sculptor, Auguste Boday (1831-1899), whose works were exhibited at the Paris Salon and are now housed in several major museums across France.
While the name Boday has its roots in coastal regions of northern France, it has since spread to various parts of the world, carried by individuals who embraced diverse professions and made their mark in various fields over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boday
Among Census respondents with the surname Boday, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.8%) and Two or More Races (7.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Boday 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 Boday surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.2% · 89
- Hispanic or Latino10.8% · 12
- Two or more races7.2% · 8
- Black or African American1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Boday
Boday 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
#154,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
+3 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,663 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
+6 bearers (+5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 6,242 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #148,244 | 102 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #154,907 | 105 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.9%) | Down 6,663 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.7%) | Up 6,242 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 Boday 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 | #154,907 | #148,665 | 4.0% |
| Count | 105 | 111 | 5.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Boday bearers went from 105 to 111 (+5.7% change). The surname moved up 6,242 positions in the national ranking, going from #154,907 to #148,665.
FAQ
Boday surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Boday?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Boday. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Boday?
Boday ranks #148,665 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 111 people with the surname Boday. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), 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 Boday.
Has Boday become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Boday went from 105 recorded bearers to 111. That is an increase of 6 (+5.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #154,907 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Boday?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boday, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.8%) and Two or More Races (7.2%). 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 Boday in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.2% (89 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Boday appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.2%), Hispanic (10.8%), Two or More Races (7.2%). 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 Boday (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 Boday mean?
An Old French surname originating as a place name referring to someone from Bodaye. 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 Boday (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 have the last name Boday?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Boday, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.