2000
#139,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Boekhoff
A locational surname derived from a Dutch place name indicating someone from a particular town or region.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 122 Americans carry the last name Boekhoff. That puts it at #152,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,809,462 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Boekhoff 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
122
1 in 2,809,462
Census rank
#152,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
106
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 106 bearers of the surname Boekhoff in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Boekhoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boekhoff
The surname BOEKHOFF has its origins in the Netherlands, with records indicating it first emerged in the 16th century. The name is derived from the Dutch words "boek," meaning book, and "hof," referring to a farm or courtyard. It is believed that the surname was initially given to individuals who lived on or worked at a farm or estate with a connection to books or book-keeping.
Early references to the BOEKHOFF name can be found in Dutch municipal records from the late 1500s and early 1600s. One of the earliest documented instances is Johannes BOEKHOFF, born in 1587 in the town of Delft. Another notable early bearer of the name was Pieter BOEKHOFF, a merchant from Amsterdam who lived from 1612 to 1679.
In the 17th century, the BOEKHOFF surname gained prominence in the city of Leiden, where several members of the family were involved in the book trade. Willem BOEKHOFF (1632-1701) was a renowned printer and publisher, while his son, Adriaan BOEKHOFF (1660-1728), followed in his footsteps as a successful bookseller.
As the Dutch explored and settled in various parts of the world, the BOEKHOFF name spread to other regions. In the late 18th century, Jan BOEKHOFF (1745-1812) emigrated from the Netherlands to South Africa, where he became a respected farmer and landowner in the Cape Colony.
Another notable figure was Cornelis BOEKHOFF (1810-1888), a Dutch politician and statesman who served as the Minister of Finance in the Netherlands from 1863 to 1866. His contributions to the country's financial policies and reforms were significant during his tenure.
In the 20th century, the BOEKHOFF name gained recognition in the field of academia. Johannes BOEKHOFF (1896-1971) was a renowned Dutch linguist and philologist who made significant contributions to the study of Old Germanic languages and literature.
While the BOEKHOFF surname is relatively uncommon, it has a rich history rooted in the Netherlands, with connections to the book trade, agriculture, politics, and academia over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boekhoff
Among Census respondents with the surname Boekhoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Boekhoff 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 Boekhoff surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.2% · 102
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Boekhoff
Boekhoff 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
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
+2 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,496 places
2020
#152,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-6 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,086 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #139,757 | 110 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.8%) | Down 7,496 places |
| 2020 | #152,339 | 106 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 5,086 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 Boekhoff 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 | #147,253 | #152,339 | -3.5% |
| Count | 112 | 106 | -5.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Boekhoff bearers went from 112 to 106 (-5.4% change). The surname moved down 5,086 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #152,339.
FAQ
Boekhoff surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Boekhoff?
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the surname Boekhoff. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,809,462 residents.
How common is Boekhoff?
Boekhoff ranks #152,339 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 106 people with the surname Boekhoff. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (122), 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 Boekhoff.
Has Boekhoff become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Boekhoff went from 112 recorded bearers to 106. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #147,253 to #152,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Boekhoff?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boekhoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%). 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 Boekhoff in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.2% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Boekhoff appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%), American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%). 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 Boekhoff (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 Boekhoff mean?
A locational surname derived from a Dutch place name indicating someone from a particular town or region. 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 Boekhoff (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 Boekhoff?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.