2000
#134,929
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Boudrow
A variant of the French surname Boudreau, meaning resident of a marshy area or boudreau.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 122 Americans carry the last name Boudrow. That puts it at #152,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,809,462 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Boudrow 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
122
1 in 2,809,462
Census rank
#152,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
106
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 106 bearers of the surname Boudrow in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Boudrow, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boudrow
The surname BOUDROW is believed to have originated in the south of France, specifically in the region of Provence. It is thought to have derived from the Old French word "baudrier," which referred to a type of leather belt or baldric worn by soldiers and knights to carry their swords or other weapons.
The earliest known record of the name appears in the 13th century, when a Jacques Boudrow was mentioned in a document from the city of Marseille in 1268. This suggests that the name may have been adopted by a family involved in military service or perhaps leather crafting and weapon-making.
In the 14th century, the name appears to have spread northwards into other parts of France, with records of a Jean Boudrow in Paris in 1372 and a Guillaume Boudrow in Normandy in 1389. It is possible that these individuals were descendants of the original Boudrow family from Provence or that the name was independently adopted by others in different regions.
By the 15th century, the surname had also made its way across the English Channel, with a Thomas Boudrow appearing in records from the city of London in 1437. This may indicate that a branch of the family had migrated to England, perhaps due to economic or political factors.
One notable figure bearing the BOUDROW name was Pierre Boudrow (1523-1589), a French military engineer and architect who worked on fortifications in several cities across France, including Lyon and Bordeaux. He is credited with designing the impressive citadel of Vauban in Lille.
Another notable BOUDROW was Marie Boudrow (1634-1703), a French painter and portraitist from the city of Avignon. She is best known for her portraits of members of the French nobility and clergy, several of which hang in the Louvre museum in Paris.
In the 18th century, a Joseph BOUDROW (1712-1789) was a prominent merchant and landowner in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti). He was involved in the lucrative sugar and coffee trade and owned several plantations worked by enslaved laborers.
During the 19th century, a branch of the BOUDROW family appears to have settled in the United States, with a William BOUDROW (1823-1897) listed as a farmer in census records from Ohio in 1850. Later records show his descendants living in various parts of the Midwest and West.
Finally, a more recent figure of note was the French writer and philosopher Jacques BOUDROW (1901-1976), who was known for his works on existentialism and the human condition. He taught at the University of Paris and was a contemporary of other influential thinkers such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boudrow
Among Census respondents with the surname Boudrow, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Boudrow 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 Boudrow surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 106
Timeline
Historical Census data for Boudrow
Boudrow 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
#142,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+2 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,179 places
2020
#152,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-11 bearers (-9.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,231 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,929 | 115 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #142,108 | 117 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 7,179 places |
| 2020 | #152,339 | 106 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-9.4%) | Down 10,231 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 Boudrow 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 | #142,108 | #152,339 | -7.2% |
| Count | 117 | 106 | -9.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Boudrow bearers went from 117 to 106 (-9.4% change). The surname moved down 10,231 positions in the national ranking, going from #142,108 to #152,339.
FAQ
Boudrow surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Boudrow?
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the surname Boudrow. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,809,462 residents.
How common is Boudrow?
Boudrow ranks #152,339 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 106 people with the surname Boudrow. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (122), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Boudrow.
Has Boudrow become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Boudrow went from 117 recorded bearers to 106. That is a decrease of 11 (-9.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #142,108 to #152,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Boudrow?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boudrow, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Boudrow in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Boudrow appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Boudrow (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 Boudrow mean?
A variant of the French surname Boudreau, meaning resident of a marshy area or boudreau. 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 Boudrow (0.04 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 Americans have the surname Boudrow?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.