2000
#135,837
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Bolack
A surname of uncertain origin, possibly derived from a Germanic place name or occupation.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Bolack. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bolack 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
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Bolack in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bolack, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bolack
The surname Bolack has its origins rooted in the Slavic languages, originating from the region of Eastern Europe during the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old Slavic word "bolek," which means "small" or "little one." The name could have initially been a descriptive nickname given to someone of small stature or a term of endearment for a child.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bolack can be traced back to the 13th century in the Bohemian region of what is now the Czech Republic. A document from 1284 mentions a nobleman named Bolak von Prag, indicating that the name was already in use among the aristocratic classes of the time.
In the 15th century, there are records of a wealthy merchant family named Bolack residing in the city of Krakow, Poland. Their trade ventures and influence likely contributed to the spread of the name across Eastern and Central Europe.
During the 16th century, the Bolack surname appears in various historical documents in the region of Silesia, which was then part of the Kingdom of Bohemia. One notable figure was Jan Bolack, a respected scholar and theologian born in 1562 in the city of Wroclaw (then known as Breslau).
In the 17th century, the name Bolack gained prominence in the Russian Empire, particularly among the Cossack communities of the Don and Kuban regions. One famous bearer of the name was Yemelyan Bolack, a prominent Cossack leader who played a significant role in the Pugachev Rebellion against Catherine the Great in the 1770s.
As the Slavic populations migrated and dispersed throughout Europe and beyond, the Bolack surname spread to various parts of the world. In the 19th century, there are records of individuals with this surname in countries like Germany, Austria, and even as far as the United States, where immigrants from Eastern Europe settled.
Other notable individuals with the Bolack surname include Mikhail Bolack, a renowned Russian painter born in 1832, and Vasily Bolack, a celebrated composer from Ukraine who lived from 1873 to 1945.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bolack
Among Census respondents with the surname Bolack, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Bolack 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 Bolack surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.3% · 105
- Two or more races3.7% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bolack
Bolack 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
#158,432
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
-12 bearers (-10.5%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 22,595 places
2020
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
+7 bearers (+6.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 8,227 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 | #158,432 | 102 | 0.03 | -12 bearers (-10.5%) | Down 22,595 places |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+6.9%) | Up 8,227 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 Bolack 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 | #158,432 | #150,205 | 5.2% |
| Count | 102 | 109 | 6.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 21.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bolack bearers went from 102 to 109 (+6.9% change). The surname moved up 8,227 positions in the national ranking, going from #158,432 to #150,205.
FAQ
Bolack surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bolack?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Bolack. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Bolack?
Bolack ranks #150,205 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 109 people with the surname Bolack. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), 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 Bolack.
Has Bolack become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bolack went from 102 recorded bearers to 109. That is an increase of 7 (+6.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #158,432 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Bolack?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bolack, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Bolack in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.3% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bolack appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.3%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Bolack (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 Bolack mean?
A surname of uncertain origin, possibly derived from a Germanic place name or occupation. 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 Bolack (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 Bolack?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.