Boll
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) occupational surname referring to a person who manufactured or sold round wooden bowls.
According to the 2010 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,359 Americans carry the last name Boll. That puts it at #10,993 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.98 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 102,041 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Boll surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, 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
3.4K
1 in 102,041
Census rank
#10,993
2010 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,893 bearers of the surname Boll in its 2010 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.98 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10993rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Boll, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Black (1.9%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boll
The surname Boll originated in Germany during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old German word "bolle," which means a round loaf of bread or a small hill. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a round hill or worked as a baker.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Boll can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland. In some areas, the name was also spelled as "Bole" or "Bolle."
One of the earliest documented references to the name Boll can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of medieval charters and documents from Saxony, where a certain "Henricus Boll" is mentioned in a record dated 1286.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in the town records of Nuremberg, where a "Hans Boll" is listed as a resident in 1357. This suggests that the name was well-established in urban centers of Germany by this time.
A notable historical figure with the surname Boll was Johann Christian Boll (1776-1848), a German botanist and naturalist who made significant contributions to the study of plant life in the Rhineland region.
Another prominent individual was the German writer and Nobel Prize laureate, Heinrich Boll (1917-1985), whose works explored the moral and ethical dilemmas of post-World War II Germany.
In the 16th century, the name Boll can be found in various historical records from the city of Cologne, where it was sometimes associated with the occupation of baking or milling.
Other notable individuals with the surname Boll include Johann Boll (1590-1669), a German composer and organist from Braunschweig, and Franz Boll (1867-1924), a German classical philologist and scholar of ancient Greek literature.
The name Boll has also been linked to several place names in Germany, such as Bollberg (meaning "Boll's hill") and Bollschweil (meaning "Boll's village"), further reinforcing its geographical origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boll
Among Census respondents with the surname Boll, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Black (1.9%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Boll bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2010 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.
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 Boll surname at the time of the 2010 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.8%
- Black or African American1.9%
- Hispanic or Latino1.9%
- Two or more races1.4%
- Unknown or suppressed0.9%
Year on year
2000 vs 2010 Census
How has the Boll surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
| Metric | 2000 | 2010 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #10,330 | #10,993 | -6.4% |
| Count | 2,857 | 2,893 | 1.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.06 | 0.98 | -7.5% |
Between the 2000 and 2010 Census, the number of Boll bearers went from 2,857 to 2,893 (+1.3% change). The surname moved down 663 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,330 to #10,993.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Boll
FAQ
Boll surname: questions and answers
How common is the last name Boll?
The surname Boll holds position #10,993 in the US Census Bureau's surname ranking, with an estimated 3,359 living bearers. It occurs at a rate of 0.98 per 100,000 Americans.
What is the ethnic background of the Boll surname?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boll, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Black (1.9%) and Hispanic (1.9%). These figures come from the 2010 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Where does this surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These tables list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2010 Census, along with a frequency rate and self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.