2000
#115,489
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 140
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Boekhout
A surname referring to someone living in or near a "book" forest or copse.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Boekhout. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Boekhout 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Boekhout in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Boekhout, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.9%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boekhout
The surname Boekhout is of Dutch origin, with its roots tracing back to the late medieval period. It is believed to have originated in the Low Countries, specifically in the regions that now comprise the Netherlands and parts of northern Belgium.
The name Boekhout is a combination of two Old Dutch words: "boek," meaning "book," and "hout," referring to a small wooded area or grove. This suggests that the name may have been initially applied to someone who lived near a wooded area known for its connection to books or learning, perhaps a scribe or scholar.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Boekhout can be found in a 14th-century manuscript from the city of Utrecht, which mentions a "Jan van Boekhout" as a prominent scholar and teacher. This suggests that the name had already established itself as a distinguishable surname by that time.
In the 15th century, the name appears in various records from the Dutch provinces of Gelderland and Utrecht, often associated with landowners and members of the local gentry. For instance, a "Willem Boekhout" is mentioned in a 1487 land deed from the town of Barneveld.
A notable figure bearing the Boekhout name was Pieter Boekhout (1568-1632), a Dutch merchant and navigator who played a significant role in the early exploration and colonization efforts of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in the East Indies (present-day Indonesia).
Another prominent individual was Adriaen Boekhout (1625-1685), a Dutch Golden Age painter known for his landscapes and genre scenes. His works can be found in numerous museums and private collections throughout Europe.
In the 18th century, the Boekhout family produced several notable figures in the fields of law and academia. One such example is Cornelis Boekhout (1712-1782), a respected jurist and professor of law at the University of Leiden.
As the Dutch colonial presence expanded, the Boekhout name also found its way to other parts of the world, including the Dutch settlements in the Americas and the Caribbean. For instance, a "Johannes Boekhout" is recorded as one of the early settlers in the Dutch colony of Suriname in the late 17th century.
While the name Boekhout is not among the most common Dutch surnames today, it continues to hold a place in the country's historical records and cultural heritage, reflecting its deep roots in the Low Countries and the diverse contributions of those who bore this name throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boekhout
Among Census respondents with the surname Boekhout, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.9%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Boekhout 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 Boekhout surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.2% · 105
- Two or more races5.9% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 4
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Boekhout
Boekhout 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
#128,249
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 133
-7 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 12,760 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-14 bearers (-10.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 14,539 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #115,489 | 140 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #128,249 | 133 | 0.05 | -7 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 12,760 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | -14 bearers (-10.5%) | Down 14,539 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 Boekhout 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 | #128,249 | #142,788 | -11.3% |
| Count | 133 | 119 | -10.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -20.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Boekhout bearers went from 133 to 119 (-10.5% change). The surname moved down 14,539 positions in the national ranking, going from #128,249 to #142,788.
FAQ
Boekhout surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Boekhout?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Boekhout. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Boekhout?
Boekhout ranks #142,788 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 119 people with the surname Boekhout. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), 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 Boekhout.
Has Boekhout become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Boekhout went from 133 recorded bearers to 119. That is a decrease of 14 (-10.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #128,249 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Boekhout?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boekhout, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.9%) and Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Boekhout in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.2% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Boekhout appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.2%), Two or More Races (5.9%), Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Boekhout (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 Boekhout mean?
A surname referring to someone living in or near a "book" forest or copse. 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 Boekhout (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 Boekhout?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Boekhout is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.