2000
#7,186
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,282
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.59
Rare Last name
Boger
An occupational surname referring to a bow maker or archer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,384 Americans carry the last name Boger. That puts it at #8,294 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.28 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 78,183 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Boger 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Boger with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.4K
1 in 78,183
Census rank
#8,294
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,823 bearers of the surname Boger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.28 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8294th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Boger, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.4%. The next largest groups are Black (8.5%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boger
The surname Boger has its origins in Germany, where it first emerged in the 13th century. It is derived from the Old German word "boge," meaning "bow" or "archer," suggesting that the name may have been an occupational surname for an archer or bowyer.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Boger can be found in the records of the town of Lübeck, where a certain Hermannus Bogere is mentioned in 1290. The name also appears in various medieval German documents, such as the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis from the 14th century.
During the Middle Ages, the name Boger was concentrated in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony, where it was often associated with small villages and townships. Some of the earliest recorded place names connected to the surname include Bogerhausen, Bogerau, and Bogerschlag.
In the 16th century, the name gained prominence with the birth of Johann Boger (1501-1565), a German Protestant reformer and theologian who played a significant role in the Reformation movement. Another notable figure was Philipp Boger (1612-1689), a German composer and organist known for his sacred works.
As the centuries progressed, the Boger surname spread across various parts of Europe, including the Netherlands and England. In the 18th century, Johann Gottfried Boger (1715-1780), a German philosopher and mathematician, gained recognition for his contributions to the field of logic.
Moving into the 19th century, Carl Boger (1805-1859) was a German-American writer and journalist who immigrated to the United States and became a prominent figure in the German-American community. Another notable bearer of the name was Wilhelm Boger (1823-1892), a German engineer and inventor who played a crucial role in the development of early typewriters.
Throughout its long history, the surname Boger has been associated with various professions, including artisans, scholars, and professionals. While its origins can be traced back to medieval Germany, the name has since spread across the globe, carried by generations of individuals who have contributed to the rich tapestry of human history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boger
Among Census respondents with the surname Boger, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.4%. The next largest groups are Black (8.5%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Boger 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 Boger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.4% · 3,225
- Black or African American8.5% · 324
- Two or more races3.6% · 137
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 97
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Boger
Boger 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
#8,189
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,051
-231 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 1.37
Rank movement Down 1,003 places
2020
#8,294
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,823
-228 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 1.28
Rank movement Down 105 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,186 | 4,282 | 1.59 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,189 | 4,051 | 1.37 | -231 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 1,003 places |
| 2020 | #8,294 | 3,823 | 1.28 | -228 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 105 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 Boger 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 | #8,189 | #8,294 | -1.3% |
| Count | 4,051 | 3,823 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.37 | 1.28 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Boger bearers went from 4,051 to 3,823 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 105 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,189 to #8,294.
FAQ
Boger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Boger?
Name Census estimates that about 4,384 living Americans carry the surname Boger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 78,183 residents.
How common is Boger?
Boger ranks #8,294 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.28 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 3,823 people with the surname Boger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,384), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.28 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.28 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 Boger.
Has Boger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Boger went from 4,051 recorded bearers to 3,823. That is a decrease of 228 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,189 to #8,294.
What does the Census say about the background of Boger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boger, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.4%. The next largest groups are Black (8.5%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Boger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.4% (3,225 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Boger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.4%), Black (8.5%), Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Boger (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 Boger mean?
An occupational surname referring to a bow maker or archer. 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 Boger (1.28 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 Boger?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Boger? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.