2000
#11,543
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,498
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.93
Rare Last name
Boulanger
An occupational French surname referring to a baker or bread maker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,790 Americans carry the last name Boulanger. That puts it at #12,211 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.81 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 122,851 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Boulanger 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
2.8K
1 in 122,851
Census rank
#12,211
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,433 bearers of the surname Boulanger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.81 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12211th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Boulanger, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boulanger
The surname Boulanger originates from France and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old French word "boulanger", meaning "baker". The name likely emerged as an occupational surname for those involved in the baking trade.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in medieval French records and documents. One notable example is a mention of a Petrus Boulanger in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1195. This suggests the name had already established itself in parts of England by the late 12th century.
Several places in France share names derived from "boulanger", such as Boulangeresse and Boulangerie, indicating areas where bakers or bakeries were prominent features. The name Boulanger appeared in various spellings, including Boulenger and Boulengier, in different regions of France and neighboring areas throughout the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Jean Boulanger, a 14th-century French architect and sculptor who worked on the construction of the Cathedral of Rouen in Normandy. Another notable figure was Nicolas Boulanger, a 16th-century French cartographer and cosmographer, born around 1510.
In the 17th century, Louis Boulanger (1609-1667) was a renowned French painter and etcher, known for his religious and mythological works. His son, Jean Boulanger (1646-1732), followed in his footsteps as a painter and was appointed as a professor at the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture.
During the 18th century, Nicolas-Antoine Boulanger (1722-1759) was a French philosopher and writer who significantly influenced the development of Enlightenment thought. His work "Antiquité dévoilée par ses usages" (published posthumously in 1766) challenged traditional religious beliefs and advocated for a more rational approach to understanding the origins of human civilization.
Throughout its long history, the surname Boulanger has been associated with various professions, from bakers and artisans to artists, scholars, and philosophers. Its French roots and occupational origins have left an indelible mark on the name's significance and cultural heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boulanger
Among Census respondents with the surname Boulanger, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Boulanger 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 Boulanger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.6% · 2,180
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 94
- Two or more races3.2% · 78
- Black or African American1.6% · 40
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 27
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Boulanger
Boulanger 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
#12,208
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,551
+53 bearers (+2.1%)
Per 100,000 0.86
Rank movement Down 665 places
2020
#12,211
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,433
-118 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Down 3 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,543 | 2,498 | 0.93 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,208 | 2,551 | 0.86 | +53 bearers (+2.1%) | Down 665 places |
| 2020 | #12,211 | 2,433 | 0.81 | -118 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 3 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 Boulanger 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 | #12,208 | #12,211 | -0.0% |
| Count | 2,551 | 2,433 | -4.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.86 | 0.81 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Boulanger bearers went from 2,551 to 2,433 (-4.6% change). The surname moved down 3 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,208 to #12,211.
FAQ
Boulanger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Boulanger?
Name Census estimates that about 2,790 living Americans carry the surname Boulanger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 122,851 residents.
How common is Boulanger?
Boulanger ranks #12,211 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.81 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,433 people with the surname Boulanger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,790), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.81 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.81 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Boulanger.
Has Boulanger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Boulanger went from 2,551 recorded bearers to 2,433. That is a decrease of 118 (-4.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,208 to #12,211.
What does the Census say about the background of Boulanger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boulanger, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Boulanger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.6% (2,180 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Boulanger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.6%), Hispanic (3.9%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Boulanger (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 Boulanger mean?
An occupational French surname referring to a baker or bread maker. 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 Boulanger (0.81 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 Boulanger?
If you just want to know how common the surname Boulanger is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.