Boring last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Boring

An English surname derived from a place name or a nickname for a tedious, dull person.

Boring, 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 Boring surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Boring in America

Boring is the 5986th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Boring surname appeared 5,746 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Boring.

We can also compare 2010 data for Boring 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 5986 5726 4.44%
Count 5,746 5,552 3.43%
Proportion per 100k 1.95 2.06 -5.49%

The history of the last name Boring

The surname Boring originates from England and is believed to date back to the 11th century. It is derived from the Old English words "burg" or "burh," meaning a fortified dwelling place or a town, and "ing," which was a common suffix used to denote a person's place of origin or residence.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Borginges" and "Boringis." These entries suggest that the name was likely associated with individuals who lived in or near a fortified town or settlement.

During the medieval period, the surname Boring was particularly prevalent in the counties of Kent, Surrey, and Sussex in southeast England. It is believed that the name may have been linked to specific place names, such as Boring in Kent or Boringwheel in Sussex, although the exact connections are not entirely clear.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Boring was John Boring, who was born in Kent in the late 13th century and served as a member of the local militia. Another notable figure was William Boring (c. 1420-1490), a merchant and landowner from Surrey who played a role in the Wars of the Roses.

In the 16th century, the name appeared in various records, including those of Thomas Boring (c. 1510-1575), a member of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths in London, and Richard Boring (c. 1540-1605), a prominent landowner and magistrate in Sussex.

During the 17th century, the Boring family had established itself as a respected gentry family in various parts of England. One notable individual was Sir James Boring (1620-1692), a member of Parliament and a supporter of the Parliamentarian cause during the English Civil War.

In the 18th century, the name continued to be associated with notable figures, such as John Boring (1705-1772), a renowned architect who designed several churches and country houses in Kent, and Elizabeth Boring (1740-1818), a renowned author and poet whose works were widely published in her lifetime.

Throughout the 19th century, the Boring surname appeared in various historical records, including those of military officers, clergymen, and scholars. One prominent individual was Admiral Sir Charles Boring (1815-1892), who served in the Royal Navy and played a significant role in the Crimean War.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Boring

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

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 Boring was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 94.15% 5,410
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.54% 31
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.66% 38
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.50% 29
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.46% 84
Hispanic Origin 2.68% 154

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 Boring has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 94.15% 96.22% -2.17%
Black 0.54% 0.38% 34.78%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.66% 0.45% 37.84%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.50% 0.68% -30.51%
Two or More Races 1.46% 1.10% 28.13%
Hispanic 2.68% 1.17% 78.44%

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

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

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"Boring last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/boring-surname-popularity/.

"Boring last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/boring-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Boring last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/boring-surname-popularity/.

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