2000
#2,577
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,895
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.78
Uncommon Last name
Bolin
Derived from the Old Norse byname "Bólinson," meaning "son of Bóli," a personal name of uncertain origin.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 14,193 Americans carry the last name Bolin. That puts it at #2,832 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.14 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 24,150 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bolin 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
14K
1 in 24,150
Census rank
#2,832
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
12K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 12,377 bearers of the surname Bolin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.14 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2832nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bolin, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bolin
The surname Bolin has its origins in Sweden, where it first appeared in the 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old Norse word "boli," which meant a small farmstead or dwelling. The earliest recorded instance of the name is found in a Swedish parish record from 1567, which mentions a "Bolin Eriksson" living in the village of Torsåker.
Another possible origin of the name Bolin is that it may have been a descriptive surname given to someone who lived near a large boulder or rock formation, as the Swedish word "bole" can also refer to a rocky outcrop or boulder. This theory is supported by the fact that many early Swedish surnames were based on geographic features or occupations.
In the 17th century, the Bolin surname began to appear in other parts of Scandinavia, particularly in Norway and Denmark. One notable bearer of the name was Anders Bolin (1624-1688), a Swedish military officer who served as the governor of the Swedish colony of New Sweden (present-day Delaware) from 1654 to 1655.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Bolin name spread throughout Europe as Swedish and Norwegian immigrants settled in various countries. One prominent individual with this surname was Johan Bolin (1739-1808), a Swedish artist and engraver who was appointed as the court painter to King Gustav III of Sweden.
In the United States, the Bolin surname can be traced back to the late 17th century, when Swedish immigrants began arriving in the Delaware Valley region. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is that of Nils Bolin, who was born in Sweden in 1693 and later settled in Philadelphia.
Other notable individuals with the surname Bolin include:
1. Torsten Bolin (1911-1998), a Swedish actor and director.
2. Jane Bolin (1908-2007), the first African American woman to become a judge in the United States, appointed to the New York City Domestic Relations Court in 1939.
3. Juan Bolin (1517-1608), a Spanish painter and architect who worked in the Spanish Renaissance style.
4. Benjamin Bolin (1872-1938), an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Missouri.
5. Carl Bolin (1838-1897), a Swedish-American educator and author who founded the first Swedish-American newspaper in the United States, Hemlandet.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bolin
Among Census respondents with the surname Bolin, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Bolin 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 Bolin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.6% · 10,838
- Two or more races4.3% · 530
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 418
- Black or African American2.8% · 347
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 178
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 66
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bolin
Bolin 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
#2,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,962
+67 bearers (+0.5%)
Per 100,000 4.39
Rank movement Down 206 places
2020
#2,832
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,377
-585 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 4.14
Rank movement Down 49 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,577 | 12,895 | 4.78 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,783 | 12,962 | 4.39 | +67 bearers (+0.5%) | Down 206 places |
| 2020 | #2,832 | 12,377 | 4.14 | -585 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 49 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 Bolin 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 | #2,783 | #2,832 | -1.8% |
| Count | 12,962 | 12,377 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 4.39 | 4.14 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bolin bearers went from 12,962 to 12,377 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 49 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,783 to #2,832.
FAQ
Bolin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bolin?
Name Census estimates that about 14,193 living Americans carry the surname Bolin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 24,150 residents.
How common is Bolin?
Bolin ranks #2,832 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.14 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 12,377 people with the surname Bolin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (14,193), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.14 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.14 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Bolin.
Has Bolin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bolin went from 12,962 recorded bearers to 12,377. That is a decrease of 585 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,783 to #2,832.
What does the Census say about the background of Bolin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bolin, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Bolin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.6% (10,838 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bolin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.6%), Two or More Races (4.3%), Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Bolin (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 Bolin mean?
Derived from the Old Norse byname "Bólinson," meaning "son of Bóli," a personal name of uncertain origin. 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 Bolin (4.14 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 surname Bolin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.