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

Boni, 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 Boni surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Boni in America

Boni is the 20139th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Boni surname appeared 1,326 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Boni.

We can also compare 2010 data for Boni 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 Boni

The surname Boni has its origins in Italy, where it first emerged in the Middle Ages. It is believed to be derived from the Latin word "bonus," meaning good or virtuous. This suggests that the name may have initially been given as a nickname to someone who was considered to be of good character or morals.

In its earliest recorded instances, the name appeared in various Italian manuscripts and records from the 13th and 14th centuries. One notable example is found in the Florentine Codex of 1298, which mentions a certain Guido Boni, a merchant from the city of Siena.

The Boni name is also closely associated with the town of Boni, located in the province of Novara, in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. It is likely that some branches of the Boni family originated from this area, and the surname may have been influenced by the place name.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the Boni surname was Girolamo Boni, a renowned Italian architect and engineer who lived from 1544 to 1614. He is best known for his work on the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome and the construction of the Palazzo Borghese.

Another notable figure with the Boni surname was Gaspar Boni, a 17th-century Italian painter and engraver. He was born in Milan in 1635 and is remembered for his religious artwork and portraits commissioned by the Church and nobility.

In the literary world, Giacomo Boni (1688-1766) was an Italian poet and playwright from Genoa. His works, including the tragedy "Merope," were highly regarded during the Enlightenment period.

The Boni surname also has connections to the world of music. Pietro Boni (1812-1892) was an Italian opera composer and conductor who was active in the mid-19th century. His operas, such as "Il Mercante di Venezia," were performed throughout Italy and Europe.

Lastly, one cannot discuss the Boni surname without mentioning Giacomo Boni (1859-1925), a pioneering Italian archaeologist. He is renowned for his excavations and restorations of ancient Roman sites, including the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill in Rome.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Boni

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

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 Boni 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 Boni 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 Boni was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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