2000
#4,807
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,713
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.49
Rare Last name
Bosch
A German and Dutch occupational surname referring to someone who lived near or worked in a forest or bush.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,261 Americans carry the last name Bosch. That puts it at #4,758 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.41 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 41,491 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bosch 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Bosch with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.3K
1 in 41,491
Census rank
#4,758
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,204 bearers of the surname Bosch in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.41 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4758th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bosch, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.3%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bosch
The surname Bosch has its origins in the Netherlands and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Dutch word "bos," which means "forest" or "woods." The name likely referred to someone who lived near or worked in a forested area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bosch can be found in the 14th century, when a Dutchman named Hieronymus Bosch, also known as Jheronimus van Aken, was born in the town of 's-Hertogenbosch (meaning "the Duke's forest") around 1450. Hieronymus Bosch became a renowned painter of the Dutch Renaissance, famous for his surreal and nightmarish depictions of religious concepts and moral allegories.
In the 16th century, a Spanish painter named Juan Bosch was active in the court of King Philip II of Spain. Juan Bosch's works were heavily influenced by the Flemish and Dutch styles of his time, reflecting the cultural exchange between the Low Countries and Spain during that period.
The Bosch surname also appeared in other parts of Europe, such as Germany, where a notable figure was the philosopher and theologian David Bosch, born in 1629 in Königsberg (now Kaliningrad, Russia). David Bosch was a prominent figure in the Protestant Reformation and contributed to the development of Lutheran theology.
In the 19th century, a German botanist named Robert Bosch was born in 1861 in Krefeld. He is known for his extensive work on the flora of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands, publishing several books on the subject.
Another notable person with the Bosch surname is the German industrialist and engineer Robert Bosch, born in 1861 in Albeck, near Stuttgart. He founded the Bosch company, which became one of the world's leading manufacturers of automotive components and household appliances.
The surname Bosch has also been associated with various place names throughout history, such as the town of 's-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands, which was originally spelled as "Boschduynen" in the 13th century, meaning "dunes in the woods."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bosch
Among Census respondents with the surname Bosch, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.3%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Bosch 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 Bosch surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.4% · 5,577
- Hispanic or Latino17.3% · 1,247
- Two or more races3.0% · 217
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 123
- Black or African American0.4% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bosch
Bosch 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
#4,826
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,312
+599 bearers (+8.9%)
Per 100,000 2.48
Rank movement Down 19 places
2020
#4,758
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,204
-108 bearers (-1.5%)
Per 100,000 2.41
Rank movement Up 68 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,807 | 6,713 | 2.49 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,826 | 7,312 | 2.48 | +599 bearers (+8.9%) | Down 19 places |
| 2020 | #4,758 | 7,204 | 2.41 | -108 bearers (-1.5%) | Up 68 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 Bosch 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 | #4,826 | #4,758 | 1.4% |
| Count | 7,312 | 7,204 | -1.5% |
| Per 100K | 2.48 | 2.41 | -2.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bosch bearers went from 7,312 to 7,204 (-1.5% change). The surname moved up 68 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,826 to #4,758.
FAQ
Bosch surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bosch?
Name Census estimates that about 8,261 living Americans carry the surname Bosch. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 41,491 residents.
How common is Bosch?
Bosch ranks #4,758 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.41 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,204 people with the surname Bosch. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,261), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.41 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.41 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Bosch.
Has Bosch become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bosch went from 7,312 recorded bearers to 7,204. That is a decrease of 108 (-1.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #4,826 to #4,758.
What does the Census say about the background of Bosch?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bosch, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.3%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Bosch in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.4% (5,577 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bosch appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (77.4%), Hispanic (17.3%), Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Bosch (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 Bosch mean?
A German and Dutch occupational surname referring to someone who lived near or worked in a forest or bush. 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 Bosch (2.41 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 Bosch?
Want to know how many people have the surname Bosch? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.