Find out how popular the last name Boel is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Boel.

Boel, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Boel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Boel in America

Boel is the 107669th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Boel surname appeared 165 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Boel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Boel to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Boel

The surname BOEL has its origins in the Netherlands and Belgium. It is thought to have derived from the Old Dutch word "boele" or "boel", meaning "lover" or "sweetheart". This term was often used as a term of endearment or affection in the Middle Ages.

Early records of the name date back to the 13th century in medieval Dutch and Flemish records. One of the earliest mentions is found in the court records of the city of Bruges in 1284, where a Willem Boel is listed as a merchant guild member.

In the 14th century, variations like "de Boel" and "van Boel" began appearing, indicating the name may have originated as a nickname or descriptive name before becoming an inherited surname. The prefix "de" or "van" was common in Dutch surnames at the time, denoting "of" or "from".

The BOEL name appears in the historical town records of Leiden in 1432, where a Jacob Boelszoon (literally "Jacob, son of Boel") is mentioned as a property owner. This shows the name had become an established hereditary surname by that point.

Notable people with the surname BOEL from history include Pieter Boel (1626-1674), a renowned Flemish animal painter in the Baroque tradition. His works are displayed in museums across Europe. Quirin Boel (1629-1668) was his younger brother, also a successful painter of the Dutch Golden Age.

Cornelis Boel (1576-1621) was a Dutch Renaissance humanist scholar and professor of Greek at Leiden University in the early 17th century. He published works on classical philosophy and literature.

Arnold Boel (1670-1736) was a Dutch Golden Age landscape painter who studied under Jacob van Ruisdael. Some of his pastoral scenes are part of the collection at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Moving into the modern era, Hendrik Boel (1887-1954) was a Belgian architect and urban planner instrumental in redesigning parts of Brussels and Antwerp in the early 20th century Modernist style.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Boel

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Boel.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Boel was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Boel has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Boel was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Boel, please contact us.

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