2000
#135,837
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Bojar
A surname of Slavic origin, possibly referring to a landowner or wealthy person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Bojar. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bojar 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Bojar in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bojar, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bojar
The surname BOJAR originates from Poland and dates back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Slavic word "bojar," which referred to a member of the landed gentry or a noble class in several Slavic countries, including Poland, Russia, and Romania. The name likely emerged as a designation for individuals who belonged to this privileged class or held positions of authority associated with it.
Early references to the BOJAR surname can be found in historical records and documents from the 14th and 15th centuries in Poland. One notable example is the mention of a nobleman named Jan Bojar in a legal document from the city of Krakow, dated 1387. This suggests that the name was already established and associated with the nobility during that time period.
In the 16th century, the BOJAR surname gained prominence with the rise of the Bojar family, a influential noble clan in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Prominent members of this family included Stanisław Bojar (1530-1593), a renowned military commander and statesman who served as the Voivode (governor) of Podolia, and Jerzy Bojar (1557-1624), a renowned poet and diplomat.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the BOJAR surname continued to be associated with the Polish nobility and landowners. Several members of the Bojar family held prominent positions in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, such as Jan Bojar (1625-1684), a castellan (governor) of Krakow, and Michał Bojar (1670-1736), a renowned military commander who fought in the Great Northern War against Sweden.
Beyond Poland, the BOJAR surname also gained recognition in other parts of Eastern Europe, particularly in Romania. Here, the name was associated with the Romanian boyars, a class of nobles and landowners who held significant political and economic power. One notable figure was Gheorghe Bojar (1820-1892), a Romanian politician and diplomat who served as the Prime Minister of Romania in the late 19th century.
Other notable individuals with the BOJAR surname include Józef Bojar (1849-1923), a Polish painter and art critic active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and Wacław Bojar (1887-1940), a Polish military officer who served in World War I and later became a victim of the Katyn Massacre during World War II.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bojar
Among Census respondents with the surname Bojar, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Bojar 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 Bojar surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.3% · 112
- Hispanic or Latino6.7% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bojar
Bojar 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
#159,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
-13 bearers (-11.4%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 23,875 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+19 bearers (+18.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 17,663 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #135,837 | 114 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #159,712 | 101 | 0.03 | -13 bearers (-11.4%) | Down 23,875 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | +19 bearers (+18.8%) | Up 17,663 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 Bojar 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 | #159,712 | #142,049 | 11.1% |
| Count | 101 | 120 | 18.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 33.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bojar bearers went from 101 to 120 (+18.8% change). The surname moved up 17,663 positions in the national ranking, going from #159,712 to #142,049.
FAQ
Bojar surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bojar?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Bojar. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Bojar?
Bojar ranks #142,049 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 120 people with the surname Bojar. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), 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 Bojar.
Has Bojar become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bojar went from 101 recorded bearers to 120. That is an increase of 19 (+18.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #159,712 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Bojar?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bojar, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.7%). 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 Bojar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (112 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bojar appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.3%), Hispanic (6.7%). 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 Bojar (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 Bojar mean?
A surname of Slavic origin, possibly referring to a landowner or wealthy person. 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 Bojar (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 share the surname Bojar?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.