Find out how popular the last name Bolles is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Bolles.

Bolles, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Bolles surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bolles in America

Bolles is the 12740th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bolles surname appeared 2,423 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Bolles.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bolles to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Bolles

The surname Bolles is of Anglo-Saxon origin, derived from the Old English words "bol" meaning a rounded hill or knoll, and "hyll" meaning a hill. This suggests that the name was originally a topographic surname, given to someone who lived near a distinctive rounded hill or hillock. The earliest recorded spelling of the name dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Bolles" in Somerset.

The name Bolles was primarily found in the counties of Somerset, Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire in the southwest of England during the medieval period. It is believed that the name may have originated in the village of Bole, located near Taunton in Somerset, which was recorded as "Bole" in the Domesday Book.

In the 13th century, the name appeared in various forms, such as "de Bolle" and "atte Bolle," indicating a person from a place called "Bole" or "Bolle." By the 14th century, the spelling had evolved to "Bolles," which became the more common form of the surname.

One notable historical figure with the surname Bolles was Sir John Bolles (c. 1442-1491), a member of the English gentry and a supporter of the House of York during the Wars of the Roses. He was knighted by King Edward IV and served as Sheriff of Somerset and Dorset.

Another notable bearer of the name was Robert Bolles (c. 1520-1572), an English theologian and clergyman who served as the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield from 1568 until his death.

In the 17th century, Thomas Bolles (1601-1663) was a Puritan minister and one of the founders of the town of Wells, Maine, in the United States. He emigrated from England to Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1638.

John Bolles (1687-1767) was an American surveyor and landowner who helped establish the town of Woodstock, Connecticut, in the early 18th century.

Benjamin Bolles (1739-1818) was an American Revolutionary War soldier and farmer from Woodstock, Connecticut, who served in the Continental Army and fought in several major battles, including the Battle of Bunker Hill.

The Bolles surname has been present in various parts of the world, carried by descendants of English emigrants, but its origins can be traced back to the southwestern counties of England, where it first emerged as a topographic surname in the medieval period.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bolles

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Bolles.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Bolles was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Bolles has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Bolles was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Bolles, please contact us.

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