2000
#12,334
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,311
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.86
Rare Last name
Boerner
Derived from the German word meaning "a person from Bohemia" or "a Bohemian."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,461 Americans carry the last name Boerner. That puts it at #13,541 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 139,274 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Boerner 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
2.5K
1 in 139,274
Census rank
#13,541
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,146 bearers of the surname Boerner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13541st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Boerner, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boerner
The surname Boerner is of German origin, originating in the medieval period. It is derived from the German word "burner," which means "one who burns or sets fire." This suggests that the name may have been an occupational surname for someone who worked as a charcoal burner or a potter.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Boerner can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany, such as Bavaria and Saxony. It was often spelled as "Burner" or "Borner" in these early records. The name is also found in some medieval German manuscripts and chronicles, although specific references are scarce.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Boerner was Johannes Boerner, a potter who lived in the city of Nuremberg in the late 14th century. Another notable figure was Hans Boerner, a charcoal burner from the village of Oberammergau in Bavaria, who was mentioned in local records from the early 16th century.
In the 17th century, the name appears in several church records and tax rolls from various German states. For example, a farmer named Christoph Boerner was listed in the parish records of the town of Freiburg im Breisgau in 1632.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the name Boerner became more widespread across German-speaking regions, with several variations in spelling, such as "Börner," "Berner," and "Bürner." One prominent individual from this period was Johann Christian Boerner, a German botanist and physician who lived from 1756 to 1837.
Other notable figures with the surname Boerner include the German writer and poet Caspar Boerner (1809-1882), the German-American artist and illustrator Carl Boerner (1837-1921), and the German mathematician and mathematician educator Felix Bōrner (1882-1933).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boerner
Among Census respondents with the surname Boerner, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Boerner 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 Boerner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 1,967
- Two or more races3.5% · 75
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 61
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 30
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
- Black or African American0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Boerner
Boerner 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
#12,510
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,478
+167 bearers (+7.2%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Down 176 places
2020
#13,541
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,146
-332 bearers (-13.4%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Down 1,031 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,334 | 2,311 | 0.86 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,510 | 2,478 | 0.84 | +167 bearers (+7.2%) | Down 176 places |
| 2020 | #13,541 | 2,146 | 0.72 | -332 bearers (-13.4%) | Down 1,031 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 Boerner 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 | #12,510 | #13,541 | -8.2% |
| Count | 2,478 | 2,146 | -13.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.84 | 0.72 | -14.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Boerner bearers went from 2,478 to 2,146 (-13.4% change). The surname moved down 1,031 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,510 to #13,541.
FAQ
Boerner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Boerner?
Name Census estimates that about 2,461 living Americans carry the surname Boerner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 139,274 residents.
How common is Boerner?
Boerner ranks #13,541 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.72 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,146 people with the surname Boerner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,461), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.72 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.72 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Boerner.
Has Boerner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Boerner went from 2,478 recorded bearers to 2,146. That is a decrease of 332 (-13.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,510 to #13,541.
What does the Census say about the background of Boerner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boerner, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Boerner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (1,967 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Boerner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Two or More Races (3.5%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Boerner (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 Boerner mean?
Derived from the German word meaning "a person from Bohemia" or "a Bohemian." 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 Boerner (0.72 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 Boerner?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Boerner at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.