2000
#125,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 126
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Boehms
A surname of German origin, derived from the word "Böhme" meaning a person from Bohemia.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Boehms. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Boehms 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Boehms in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Boehms, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boehms
The surname BOEHMS is of German origin, derived from the medieval German word "boum," meaning "tree." It likely originated in the 12th or 13th century as a descriptive name for someone who lived near a prominent tree or in a wooded area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents from Brandenburg, Germany, dating back to the 13th century. The name is spelled "Bohm" in these records.
In the 15th century, the name appears in various forms, such as "Bohme," "Böhme," and "Böhm," in tax records and land registers from various regions of Germany, particularly in the areas of Saxony, Thuringia, and Brandenburg.
The name BOEHMS has also been found in old manuscripts and records from other parts of Europe, including the Low Countries and Scandinavia, suggesting that people with this surname may have migrated to these regions in the later centuries.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname BOEHMS was Jakob Böhme (1575-1624), a German philosopher and Christian mystic from Görlitz, Saxony, known for his influential works on mysticism and theosophy.
Another notable figure was Georg Ludwig Böhm (1668-1733), a German organist and composer from Nuremberg, known for his contributions to the development of the German organ school.
In the 19th century, the name BOEHMS gained prominence with the birth of Theobald Boehm (1794-1881), a German inventor and musician who revolutionized the design of woodwind instruments, particularly the flute and clarinet.
Other notable individuals with the surname BOEHMS include Max von Böhm-Bawerk (1851-1914), an Austrian economist and philosopher, and Hans Böhm (1908-1944), a German actor and singer who appeared in several films during the 1930s and 1940s.
While the name BOEHMS is predominantly German in origin, it has also been adopted by families in other parts of the world, particularly in regions with significant German immigration, such as North America and Australia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boehms
Among Census respondents with the surname Boehms, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Boehms 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 Boehms surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.7% · 116
- Two or more races2.5% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Boehms
Boehms 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
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-20 bearers (-15.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 28,130 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+14 bearers (+13.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 11,720 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #125,639 | 126 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | -20 bearers (-15.9%) | Down 28,130 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | +14 bearers (+13.2%) | Up 11,720 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 Boehms 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 | #153,769 | #142,049 | 7.6% |
| Count | 106 | 120 | 13.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Boehms bearers went from 106 to 120 (+13.2% change). The surname moved up 11,720 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #142,049.
FAQ
Boehms surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Boehms?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Boehms. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Boehms?
Boehms ranks #142,049 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 120 people with the surname Boehms. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), 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 Boehms.
Has Boehms become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Boehms went from 106 recorded bearers to 120. That is an increase of 14 (+13.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #153,769 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Boehms?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boehms, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%). 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 Boehms in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.7% (116 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Boehms appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.7%), Two or More Races (2.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%). 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 Boehms (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 Boehms mean?
A surname of German origin, derived from the word "Böhme" meaning a person from Bohemia. 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 Boehms (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 surname Boehms?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.