2000
#42,056
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 486
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.18
Very Rare Last name
Boehner
A locational surname derived from the German town of Böhmen.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 538 Americans carry the last name Boehner. That puts it at #48,635 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.16 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 637,090 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Boehner 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
538
1 in 637,090
Census rank
#48,635
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
469
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 469 bearers of the surname Boehner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.16 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 48635th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Boehner, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.3%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boehner
The surname Boehner is of German origin, originating in the region of Bavaria. It is derived from the German word "Böhm," which means "Bohemian," referring to the historical region of Bohemia in modern-day Czech Republic. The name likely originated in the medieval period when Bavarians began using surnames to distinguish families and individuals.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Boehner can be found in the "Bairisches Geschlechterbuch," a Bavarian genealogical book from the 15th century. This book mentions a Hans Böhner, a nobleman from the town of Landshut, who lived in the late 14th century.
In the 16th century, the name appears in various records from the city of Munich. A notable figure was Georg Boehner, a wealthy merchant and banker who lived from 1501 to 1573. He was involved in the city's trade with Italy and other European regions.
The spelling variations of the name include Böhner, Boehner, Boehmer, and Böhmer. These variations can be attributed to regional dialects and the evolution of the German language over time.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name Boehner was prevalent in the towns and villages around the city of Nuremberg. One notable individual was Johann Boehner, a skilled clockmaker who lived from 1678 to 1742. His intricate clocks and timepieces were highly sought after by the nobility of the time.
In the 19th century, the name spread further across Germany and into other parts of Europe as families migrated for economic and political reasons. One prominent figure was Karl Boehner, a German painter and artist who lived from 1825 to 1898. His landscapes and portraits captured the beauty of the Bavarian countryside and are displayed in various museums across Germany.
As the name Boehner spread, it also found its way to other parts of the world through immigration. In the United States, one notable individual was Johann Boehner, a German immigrant who settled in Pennsylvania in the mid-19th century. He worked as a farmer and helped establish a thriving German community in the area.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boehner
Among Census respondents with the surname Boehner, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.3%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Boehner 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 Boehner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.6% · 439
- Two or more races2.3% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 8
- Black or African American1.3% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Boehner
Boehner 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
#44,500
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 483
-3 bearers (-0.6%)
Per 100,000 0.16
Rank movement Down 2,444 places
2020
#48,635
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 469
-14 bearers (-2.9%)
Per 100,000 0.16
Rank movement Down 4,135 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #42,056 | 486 | 0.18 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #44,500 | 483 | 0.16 | -3 bearers (-0.6%) | Down 2,444 places |
| 2020 | #48,635 | 469 | 0.16 | -14 bearers (-2.9%) | Down 4,135 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 Boehner 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 | #44,500 | #48,635 | -9.3% |
| Count | 483 | 469 | -2.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.16 | 0.16 | -1.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Boehner bearers went from 483 to 469 (-2.9% change). The surname moved down 4,135 positions in the national ranking, going from #44,500 to #48,635.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Boehner
FAQ
Boehner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Boehner?
Name Census estimates that about 538 living Americans carry the surname Boehner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 637,090 residents.
How common is Boehner?
Boehner ranks #48,635 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.16 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 469 people with the surname Boehner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (538), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.16 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.16 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 Boehner.
Has Boehner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Boehner went from 483 recorded bearers to 469. That is a decrease of 14 (-2.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #44,500 to #48,635.
What does the Census say about the background of Boehner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boehner, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.3%) and Hispanic (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 Boehner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.6% (439 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Boehner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.6%), Two or More Races (2.3%), Hispanic (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 Boehner (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 Boehner mean?
A locational surname derived from the German town of Böhmen. 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 Boehner (0.16 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 Boehner?
You can see how many people are called Boehner on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.