2010
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Boertje
A diminutive Dutch surname referring to a small farmer or peasant.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 122 Americans carry the last name Boertje. 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 Boertje 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 Boertje 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 Boertje, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.5%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boertje
The surname BOERTJE has its origins in the Netherlands, where it first emerged in the 16th century. It is derived from the Dutch word "boertje," which translates to "little farmer" or "small peasant." This suggests that the name may have been initially given to individuals who worked as farmers or were associated with agricultural activities in rural areas.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname BOERTJE can be found in Dutch parish records and census documents from the late 16th and early 17th centuries. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Jan Boertje, who was born in the village of Schiedam in 1589.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the BOERTJE surname spread across various regions of the Netherlands, particularly in the provinces of North Holland, South Holland, and Utrecht. Some notable individuals with this surname from this period include Pieter Boertje (1622-1689), a merchant and alderman in the city of Leiden, and Adriana Boertje (1697-1773), a renowned painter known for her still-life works.
As Dutch settlers began to establish colonies in various parts of the world, the BOERTJE surname also found its way to other countries. For instance, in the late 17th century, a family bearing the BOERTJE name settled in the Dutch Cape Colony (present-day South Africa), where they became prominent farmers and landowners.
One of the most prominent figures with the BOERTJE surname was Gerrit Boertje (1788-1859), a Dutch-born soldier and military commander who served in the Napoleonic Wars and later became a general in the Dutch East Indies Army. Another notable bearer of the name was Cornelis Boertje (1812-1891), a Dutch theologian and author who wrote extensively on religious topics.
In more recent history, the BOERTJE surname has been associated with several notable individuals, including Pieter Boertje (1916-2002), a Dutch architect and urban planner known for his work in Amsterdam, and Gerrit Boertje (1927-2010), a Dutch politician and member of the House of Representatives.
While the BOERTJE surname is still relatively uncommon outside of the Netherlands, it holds a rich historical significance rooted in the country's agricultural past and the contributions of its bearers to various fields, including art, literature, military, and politics.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boertje
Among Census respondents with the surname Boertje, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.5%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Boertje 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 Boertje surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.8% · 92
- Hispanic or Latino7.5% · 8
- Two or more races3.8% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Boertje
Boertje appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 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 Boertje 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 Boertje 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
Boertje surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Boertje?
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the surname Boertje. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,809,462 residents.
How common is Boertje?
Boertje 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 Boertje. 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 Boertje.
Has Boertje become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Boertje 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 Boertje?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boertje, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.5%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Boertje in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.8% (92 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Boertje appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.8%), Hispanic (7.5%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Boertje (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 Boertje mean?
A diminutive Dutch surname referring to a small farmer or peasant. 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 Boertje (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 Boertje?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Boertje? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.