2000
#12,418
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,292
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.85
Rare Last name
Bolles
Derived from a place name meaning "bowls" or "hollows," likely referring to someone who lived near such a feature.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,312 Americans carry the last name Bolles. That puts it at #14,287 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 148,250 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bolles 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
2.3K
1 in 148,250
Census rank
#14,287
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,016 bearers of the surname Bolles in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14287th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bolles, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Black (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bolles
Among Census respondents with the surname Bolles, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Black (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Bolles 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 Bolles surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.1% · 1,817
- Two or more races3.2% · 64
- Black or African American2.7% · 54
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 53
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bolles
Bolles 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
#12,740
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,423
+131 bearers (+5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.82
Rank movement Down 322 places
2020
#14,287
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,016
-407 bearers (-16.8%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Down 1,547 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,418 | 2,292 | 0.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,740 | 2,423 | 0.82 | +131 bearers (+5.7%) | Down 322 places |
| 2020 | #14,287 | 2,016 | 0.67 | -407 bearers (-16.8%) | Down 1,547 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 Bolles 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 | #12,740 | #14,287 | -12.1% |
| Count | 2,423 | 2,016 | -16.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.82 | 0.67 | -17.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bolles bearers went from 2,423 to 2,016 (-16.8% change). The surname moved down 1,547 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,740 to #14,287.
FAQ
Bolles surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bolles?
Name Census estimates that about 2,312 living Americans carry the surname Bolles. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 148,250 residents.
How common is Bolles?
Bolles ranks #14,287 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.67 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,016 people with the surname Bolles. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,312), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.67 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Bolles.
Has Bolles become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bolles went from 2,423 recorded bearers to 2,016. That is a decrease of 407 (-16.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,740 to #14,287.
What does the Census say about the background of Bolles?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bolles, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Black (2.7%). 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 Bolles in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.1% (1,817 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bolles appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.1%), Two or More Races (3.2%), Black (2.7%). 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 Bolles (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 Bolles mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "bowls" or "hollows," likely referring to someone who lived near such a feature. 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 Bolles (0.67 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 common is the surname Bolles?
Want to know how common the surname Bolles is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.