2000
#13,213
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,119
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.79
Rare Last name
Boivin
A French occupational surname referring to a wine drinker or someone who likes to drink wine.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,447 Americans carry the last name Boivin. That puts it at #13,598 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.71 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 140,071 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Boivin 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
2.4K
1 in 140,071
Census rank
#13,598
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,134 bearers of the surname Boivin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.71 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13598th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Boivin, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.6%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (6.2%) and Hispanic (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boivin
The surname BOIVIN is of French origin, derived from the Old French word "boivin," which means "little ox-herd" or "little cowherd." This occupational surname was likely given to those who worked as cattle herders or cowboys in medieval times. It is particularly associated with the Normandy region of northern France.
In the early 12th century, the surname BOIVIN first appeared in historical records from the region of Normandy. One of the earliest known references is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions a landowner named Robertus Bovinvs in the county of Gloucestershire, England. This suggests that the name had already spread to England by the time of the Norman conquest.
During the Middle Ages, the name BOIVIN was frequently recorded in various forms, such as Bovin, Bovyn, Bouvin, and Bouvyn, reflecting the regional variations in spelling and pronunciation. Some of the earliest recorded examples include Robert Boivin, a landowner in Normandy in 1195, and Jehan Boivin, a merchant from Paris in 1298.
One notable bearer of the BOIVIN name was Jean-Baptiste Boivin, a French botanist and physician who lived from 1773 to 1857. He made significant contributions to the field of botany and was a member of the French Academy of Sciences. Another prominent figure was René Boivin, a French explorer and ethnographer who lived from 1864 to 1917 and conducted extensive research in the Pacific Islands.
In the 17th century, the BOIVIN surname was also found in Canada, where many French settlers had immigrated. One of the earliest recorded instances was Jacques Boivin, who arrived in Quebec in 1634 and became a prominent landowner in the Beaupré region. Another notable Canadian bearer of the name was Joseph Boivin, a politician and lawyer from Quebec who lived from 1868 to 1936.
The BOIVIN surname has also been associated with various place names in France, such as Bouvines, a commune in the Nord department, and Bouville, a commune in the Essonne department. These place names likely derived from the same root word as the surname, reflecting the historical connection between occupations and geographic locations.
Overall, the surname BOIVIN has a rich history that can be traced back to medieval France, where it originated as an occupational name for cattle herders. Throughout the centuries, it has been borne by notable figures across various fields, and its geographic distribution has expanded beyond its initial origins in Normandy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boivin
Among Census respondents with the surname Boivin, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.6%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (6.2%) and Hispanic (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Boivin 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 Boivin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.6% · 1,805
- American Indian and Alaska Native6.2% · 132
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 86
- Two or more races3.7% · 80
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 16
- Black or African American0.7% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Boivin
Boivin 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
#13,445
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,265
+146 bearers (+6.9%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Down 232 places
2020
#13,598
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,134
-131 bearers (-5.8%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Down 153 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,213 | 2,119 | 0.79 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,445 | 2,265 | 0.77 | +146 bearers (+6.9%) | Down 232 places |
| 2020 | #13,598 | 2,134 | 0.71 | -131 bearers (-5.8%) | Down 153 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 Boivin 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 | #13,445 | #13,598 | -1.1% |
| Count | 2,265 | 2,134 | -5.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.77 | 0.71 | -7.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Boivin bearers went from 2,265 to 2,134 (-5.8% change). The surname moved down 153 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,445 to #13,598.
FAQ
Boivin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Boivin?
Name Census estimates that about 2,447 living Americans carry the surname Boivin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 140,071 residents.
How common is Boivin?
Boivin ranks #13,598 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.71 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 2,134 people with the surname Boivin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,447), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.71 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.71 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 Boivin.
Has Boivin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Boivin went from 2,265 recorded bearers to 2,134. That is a decrease of 131 (-5.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,445 to #13,598.
What does the Census say about the background of Boivin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boivin, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.6%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (6.2%) and Hispanic (4.0%). 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 Boivin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.6% (1,805 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Boivin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.6%), American Indian/Alaska Native (6.2%), Hispanic (4.0%). 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 Boivin (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 Boivin mean?
A French occupational surname referring to a wine drinker or someone who likes to drink wine. 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 Boivin (0.71 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 Boivin?
See how many people have the last name Boivin on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.