2000
#15,937
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,675
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.62
Rare Last name
Boersma
A Dutch surname meaning "farmer" or "peasant farmer."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,099 Americans carry the last name Boersma. That puts it at #15,430 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 163,294 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Boersma 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
2.1K
1 in 163,294
Census rank
#15,430
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,830 bearers of the surname Boersma in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15430th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Boersma, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boersma
The surname Boersma is of Dutch origin, and it first emerged in the Netherlands during the 16th century. The name is derived from the Dutch words "boer," meaning "farmer," and "sma," which is a suffix indicating an occupation. Therefore, the name Boersma literally translates to "farmer's son" or "son of a farmer."
The earliest recorded instances of the Boersma surname can be traced back to the provinces of Friesland and Groningen in the northern Netherlands. These areas had a strong agricultural tradition, which likely contributed to the emergence of the name. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Boersma family was particularly prominent in the village of Huizum, near the city of Leeuwarden in Friesland.
One notable historical figure with the name Boersma was Douwe Boersma, a Dutch military officer who lived from 1665 to 1719. He served in the Dutch East India Company and played a significant role in the Dutch colonization of present-day Indonesia. Another Boersma of historical importance was Geert Boersma, a Dutch painter who lived from 1824 to 1906. He was known for his landscape paintings and was a member of the renowned Hague School of painters.
In the 19th century, the Boersma surname began to spread beyond the Netherlands as Dutch immigrants settled in other parts of the world. One notable Boersma from this period was Tjeerd Boersma, a Dutch-American politician who lived from 1840 to 1920. He served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly and was active in the local Dutch community.
The name Boersma has also been associated with academic and scientific achievements. Pieter Boersma, born in 1935, is a renowned Dutch linguist and phonetician. He developed the widely used computer software program Praat for analyzing speech and vocal sounds. Another notable Boersma was Hilda Boersma, a Dutch mathematician who lived from 1931 to 2022. She made significant contributions to the field of combinatorics and was a professor at the University of Amsterdam.
While the Boersma surname is most commonly found in the Netherlands and among Dutch diaspora communities, it has also been adopted by families in other parts of Europe and around the world. The name continues to reflect its agricultural and occupational roots, serving as a reminder of the rich cultural heritage of the Dutch people.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boersma
Among Census respondents with the surname Boersma, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Boersma 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 Boersma surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.5% · 1,711
- Two or more races2.9% · 53
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 43
- Black or African American0.8% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Boersma
Boersma 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
#15,579
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,877
+202 bearers (+12.1%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Up 358 places
2020
#15,430
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,830
-47 bearers (-2.5%)
Per 100,000 0.61
Rank movement Up 149 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,937 | 1,675 | 0.62 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,579 | 1,877 | 0.64 | +202 bearers (+12.1%) | Up 358 places |
| 2020 | #15,430 | 1,830 | 0.61 | -47 bearers (-2.5%) | Up 149 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 Boersma 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 | #15,579 | #15,430 | 1.0% |
| Count | 1,877 | 1,830 | -2.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.64 | 0.61 | -4.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Boersma bearers went from 1,877 to 1,830 (-2.5% change). The surname moved up 149 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,579 to #15,430.
FAQ
Boersma surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Boersma?
Name Census estimates that about 2,099 living Americans carry the surname Boersma. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 163,294 residents.
How common is Boersma?
Boersma ranks #15,430 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.61 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 1,830 people with the surname Boersma. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,099), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.61 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 Boersma.
Has Boersma become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Boersma went from 1,877 recorded bearers to 1,830. That is a decrease of 47 (-2.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,579 to #15,430.
What does the Census say about the background of Boersma?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boersma, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Boersma in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (1,711 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Boersma appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.5%), Two or More Races (2.9%), Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Boersma (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 Boersma mean?
A Dutch surname meaning "farmer" or "peasant farmer." 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 Boersma (0.61 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 common is the surname Boersma?
Want to know how common the surname Boersma is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.