2000
#121,058
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 132
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Boragine
An Italian surname potentially derived from the plant borage or the Italian word for borax.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 115 Americans carry the last name Boragine. That puts it at #155,682 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,980,473 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Boragine 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
115
1 in 2,980,473
Census rank
#155,682
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
100
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 100 bearers of the surname Boragine in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155682nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Boragine, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boragine
The surname Boragine has its origins in Italy, tracing back to the late medieval period around the 12th or 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Italian word "borragine," which refers to the herb borage, a plant with star-shaped blue flowers. This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational surname for someone involved in the cultivation or trade of this herb.
In the early historical records, the name appeared with various spellings, such as Borragine, Borragini, and Borraggine, reflecting the regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions of that time. One of the earliest documented references to the name can be found in a 14th-century Florentine tax record, where a certain "Guido Borragine" was listed as a resident of the city.
The surname Boragine is also linked to several notable individuals throughout history. One such figure was Antonio Borragine, a 16th-century Italian painter and sculptor from the city of Palermo, Sicily, who was renowned for his religious artworks adorning churches across the region. In the realm of literature, there was Gian Paolo Boragine, a 17th-century poet and playwright from Venice, whose works celebrated the city's rich cultural heritage.
Another prominent bearer of this surname was Giacomo Boragine, a distinguished lawyer and jurist from Naples who lived in the 18th century. His legal expertise and writings on civil law were highly regarded during his time. In the field of medicine, there was Dr. Francesco Boragine, a respected physician from Rome who made significant contributions to the study of infectious diseases in the 19th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Boragine can be found in the town of Borago, located in the province of Alessandria, Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. It is believed that the name may have originated from this location, which was historically known for its cultivation of borage.
While the surname Boragine is not among the most common in Italy, it has persisted through generations, carrying the legacy of its origins and the stories of those who bore this name throughout history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boragine
Among Census respondents with the surname Boragine, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Boragine 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 Boragine surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.0% · 92
- Hispanic or Latino8.0% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Boragine
Boragine 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
#127,494
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 134
+2 bearers (+1.5%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 6,436 places
2020
#155,682
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
-34 bearers (-25.4%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 28,188 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #121,058 | 132 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #127,494 | 134 | 0.05 | +2 bearers (+1.5%) | Down 6,436 places |
| 2020 | #155,682 | 100 | 0.03 | -34 bearers (-25.4%) | Down 28,188 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 Boragine 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 | #127,494 | #155,682 | -22.1% |
| Count | 134 | 100 | -25.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.03 | -33.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Boragine bearers went from 134 to 100 (-25.4% change). The surname moved down 28,188 positions in the national ranking, going from #127,494 to #155,682.
FAQ
Boragine surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Boragine?
Name Census estimates that about 115 living Americans carry the surname Boragine. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,980,473 residents.
How common is Boragine?
Boragine ranks #155,682 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 100 people with the surname Boragine. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (115), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Boragine.
Has Boragine become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Boragine went from 134 recorded bearers to 100. That is a decrease of 34 (-25.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #127,494 to #155,682.
What does the Census say about the background of Boragine?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boragine, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.0%). 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 Boragine in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.0% (92 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Boragine appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.0%), Hispanic (8.0%). 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 Boragine (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 Boragine mean?
An Italian surname potentially derived from the plant borage or the Italian word for borax. 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 Boragine (0.03 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 have the last name Boragine?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Boragine on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.