2000
#27,802
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 814
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.30
Rare Last name
Boonstra
A Dutch surname derived from the medieval personal name Bono meaning "good".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,007 Americans carry the last name Boonstra. That puts it at #28,830 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.29 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 340,372 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Boonstra 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
1.0K
1 in 340,372
Census rank
#28,830
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
878
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 878 bearers of the surname Boonstra in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.29 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 28830th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Boonstra, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (1.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boonstra
The surname Boonstra originated in the Netherlands, tracing its roots back to the 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the Dutch words "boon," meaning bean, and "stra," referring to a scattered or spread-out area. This suggests that the name likely referred to a person who lived near or cultivated fields of beans.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Dutch municipality of Drachten, in the province of Friesland, where a family by the name of Boonstra resided in the late 1500s. The name was also present in the nearby town of Heerenveen during this time period, further cementing its origins in the northern regions of the Netherlands.
In the 17th century, historical records show a Pieter Boonstra, born in 1621, who served as a magistrate in the city of Leeuwarden. This indicates that the Boonstra family had already established a certain level of prominence and social standing within the local community.
As the Dutch colonial empire expanded, the name Boonstra began to appear in various corners of the world. In the 1700s, a Jan Boonstra (1725-1798) was documented as a merchant and trader in the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia), showcasing the family's involvement in international commerce.
In the 19th century, the name gained further recognition with the birth of Kornelis Boonstra (1841-1913), a renowned Dutch painter who specialized in landscape and maritime scenes. His works are celebrated for their vivid depictions of the Dutch countryside and coastal regions.
Another notable figure bearing the Boonstra name was Sjoerd Boonstra (1893-1979), a prominent Dutch politician and member of the Dutch Senate. He played a significant role in shaping post-World War II policies and advocating for social reforms in the Netherlands.
While the name Boonstra has its roots firmly planted in the Netherlands, it has since spread to various parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and South Africa, owing to Dutch immigration patterns over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boonstra
Among Census respondents with the surname Boonstra, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (1.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Boonstra 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 Boonstra surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.5% · 821
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 38
- Two or more races1.1% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Boonstra
Boonstra 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
#27,185
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 890
+76 bearers (+9.3%)
Per 100,000 0.30
Rank movement Up 617 places
2020
#28,830
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 878
-12 bearers (-1.3%)
Per 100,000 0.29
Rank movement Down 1,645 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #27,802 | 814 | 0.30 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #27,185 | 890 | 0.30 | +76 bearers (+9.3%) | Up 617 places |
| 2020 | #28,830 | 878 | 0.29 | -12 bearers (-1.3%) | Down 1,645 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 Boonstra 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 | #27,185 | #28,830 | -6.1% |
| Count | 890 | 878 | -1.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.30 | 0.29 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Boonstra bearers went from 890 to 878 (-1.3% change). The surname moved down 1,645 positions in the national ranking, going from #27,185 to #28,830.
FAQ
Boonstra surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Boonstra?
Name Census estimates that about 1,007 living Americans carry the surname Boonstra. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 340,372 residents.
How common is Boonstra?
Boonstra ranks #28,830 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.29 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 878 people with the surname Boonstra. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,007), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.29 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.29 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Boonstra.
Has Boonstra become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Boonstra went from 890 recorded bearers to 878. That is a decrease of 12 (-1.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #27,185 to #28,830.
What does the Census say about the background of Boonstra?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boonstra, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (1.1%). 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 Boonstra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (821 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Boonstra appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.5%), Hispanic (4.3%), Two or More Races (1.1%). 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 Boonstra (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 Boonstra mean?
A Dutch surname derived from the medieval personal name Bono meaning "good". 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 Boonstra (0.29 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 share the surname Boonstra?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.