2000
#9,008
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,336
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.24
Rare Last name
Bouldin
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "boulder hill" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,559 Americans carry the last name Bouldin. That puts it at #9,930 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 96,306 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bouldin 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
3.6K
1 in 96,306
Census rank
#9,930
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,104 bearers of the surname Bouldin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9930th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bouldin, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.9%. The next largest groups are Black (35.1%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bouldin
The surname BOULDIN is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "bolde" meaning a dwelling and "hine" meaning a servant, combined to form the meaning "dweller or servant at the manor house."
It is believed to have originated in the county of Yorkshire, England during the late Anglo-Saxon period, around the 9th or 10th century. Some early variations of the spelling included Bolden, Boldyn, and Boulden.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name BOULDIN can be found in the Domesday Book, a manuscript recording landholdings and titles in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. It lists a landowner named Radulfus de Bolden in Yorkshire.
In the 13th century, a Richard Bouldin was recorded as a landowner in the village of Bouldon, near Knaresborough, Yorkshire. This village likely took its name from the BOULDIN family who were prominent landholders in the area during that time.
Notable individuals with the surname BOULDIN include Sir William Bouldin (1540-1612), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Another was James Bouldin (1792-1854), an American politician and lawyer who served as a U.S. Representative from Virginia.
Samuel Bouldin (1781-1864) was an American farmer and Baptist minister who helped establish several churches in Kentucky and Indiana. Thomas Bouldin (1753-1834) was a Revolutionary War soldier from Virginia who later became a prominent landowner and farmer.
Francis Bouldin (1738-1813) was a wealthy plantation owner and militia officer from Virginia who served in the American Revolutionary War and later became a judge in the state's court system.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bouldin
Among Census respondents with the surname Bouldin, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.9%. The next largest groups are Black (35.1%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Bouldin 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 Bouldin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White55.9% · 1,734
- Black or African American35.1% · 1,088
- Two or more races4.7% · 145
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 107
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bouldin
Bouldin 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
#8,761
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,744
+408 bearers (+12.2%)
Per 100,000 1.27
Rank movement Up 247 places
2020
#9,930
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,104
-640 bearers (-17.1%)
Per 100,000 1.04
Rank movement Down 1,169 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,008 | 3,336 | 1.24 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,761 | 3,744 | 1.27 | +408 bearers (+12.2%) | Up 247 places |
| 2020 | #9,930 | 3,104 | 1.04 | -640 bearers (-17.1%) | Down 1,169 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 Bouldin 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 | #8,761 | #9,930 | -13.3% |
| Count | 3,744 | 3,104 | -17.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.27 | 1.04 | -18.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bouldin bearers went from 3,744 to 3,104 (-17.1% change). The surname moved down 1,169 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,761 to #9,930.
FAQ
Bouldin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bouldin?
Name Census estimates that about 3,559 living Americans carry the surname Bouldin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 96,306 residents.
How common is Bouldin?
Bouldin ranks #9,930 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.04 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 3,104 people with the surname Bouldin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,559), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.04 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 Bouldin.
Has Bouldin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bouldin went from 3,744 recorded bearers to 3,104. That is a decrease of 640 (-17.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,761 to #9,930.
What does the Census say about the background of Bouldin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bouldin, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.9%. The next largest groups are Black (35.1%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Bouldin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.9% (1,734 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bouldin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (55.9%), Black (35.1%), Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Bouldin (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 Bouldin mean?
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "boulder hill" in Old English. 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 Bouldin (1.04 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 people have the last name Bouldin?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Bouldin is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.