2000
#2,274
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,644
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.43
Uncommon Last name
Boles
A topographical surname referring to someone who lived by a bowl-shaped hollow or small valley.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 15,839 Americans carry the last name Boles. That puts it at #2,552 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 21,640 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Boles 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 Boles with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
16K
1 in 21,640
Census rank
#2,552
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
14K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,812 bearers of the surname Boles in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2552nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Boles, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.8%. The next largest groups are Black (12.7%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boles
The surname Boles has its origins in England, with the earliest recorded examples dating back to the 13th century. The name is believed to have derived from the Old English word "boll," which referred to a round or spherical object, such as a bowl or a bell-shaped vessel.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, where it is listed as "Bolle." This suggests that the name may have originally been a descriptive nickname given to someone who was associated with bowls or a similar round object.
In the 14th century, the surname appears in various spellings, including "Bole," "Bolle," and "Bolles," in records from counties such as Warwickshire, Gloucestershire, and Oxfordshire. This indicates that the name was well-established in these regions during this period.
The Boles surname is also found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This suggests that the name may have been present in England even before the Norman Conquest.
One notable figure in history with the surname Boles was John Boles, a 15th-century English scholar and clergyman who served as the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield from 1454 to 1459.
Another prominent individual was Sir Robert Boles, a 16th-century English landowner and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire in 1558 and 1559.
In the 17th century, the surname Boles was associated with several place names, including Boles Green in Gloucestershire and Boles Farm in Oxfordshire. These place names may have derived from the surname or vice versa, further solidifying the name's ties to these regions.
One notable figure from this period was Thomas Boles, a 17th-century English theologian and author who wrote several works on religious subjects, including "The Spiritual Guide" and "The Summe of the Christian Religion."
In the 18th century, the Boles surname continued to be prominent in England, with individuals such as John Boles (1688-1757), a successful merchant and landowner in Gloucestershire, and William Boles (1715-1789), a renowned architect who designed several churches and public buildings in London.
Throughout the 19th century, the Boles surname spread to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia, as a result of emigration from England. One notable individual from this period was Edward Boles (1805-1876), a Canadian politician who served as the Premier of New Brunswick from 1870 to 1872.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boles
Among Census respondents with the surname Boles, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.8%. The next largest groups are Black (12.7%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Boles 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 Boles surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.8% · 10,879
- Black or African American12.7% · 1,759
- Two or more races4.5% · 617
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 384
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 89
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 84
Timeline
Historical Census data for Boles
Boles 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
#2,426
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,946
+302 bearers (+2.1%)
Per 100,000 5.07
Rank movement Down 152 places
2020
#2,552
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,812
-1,134 bearers (-7.6%)
Per 100,000 4.62
Rank movement Down 126 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,274 | 14,644 | 5.43 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,426 | 14,946 | 5.07 | +302 bearers (+2.1%) | Down 152 places |
| 2020 | #2,552 | 13,812 | 4.62 | -1,134 bearers (-7.6%) | Down 126 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 Boles 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 | #2,426 | #2,552 | -5.2% |
| Count | 14,946 | 13,812 | -7.6% |
| Per 100K | 5.07 | 4.62 | -8.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Boles bearers went from 14,946 to 13,812 (-7.6% change). The surname moved down 126 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,426 to #2,552.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Boles
FAQ
Boles surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Boles?
Name Census estimates that about 15,839 living Americans carry the surname Boles. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 21,640 residents.
How common is Boles?
Boles ranks #2,552 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.62 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 13,812 people with the surname Boles. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (15,839), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.62 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Boles.
Has Boles become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Boles went from 14,946 recorded bearers to 13,812. That is a decrease of 1,134 (-7.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,426 to #2,552.
What does the Census say about the background of Boles?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boles, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.8%. The next largest groups are Black (12.7%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Boles in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.8% (10,879 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Boles appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.8%), Black (12.7%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Boles (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 Boles mean?
A topographical surname referring to someone who lived by a bowl-shaped hollow or small valley. 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 Boles (4.62 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 Boles?
Want to know how many people are called Boles? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.