2000
#6,841
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,530
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.68
Rare Last name
Boutwell
Derived from a place name meaning "dwelling near a spring or stream" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,160 Americans carry the last name Boutwell. That puts it at #7,159 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.51 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 66,425 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Boutwell 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
5.2K
1 in 66,425
Census rank
#7,159
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,500 bearers of the surname Boutwell in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.51 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7159th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Boutwell, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boutwell
The surname BOUTWELL has its origins in England, likely originating in the 13th or 14th century. It is believed to be a locational surname, derived from a place name such as Boutwell or Boutewell. The name is thought to be a combination of the Old English words "but" and "well," referring to a well or spring near a dwelling or boundary.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the BOUTWELL name can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, where it appears as "Boutewelle." This suggests that the name was already established in the region by the early 14th century. Another early reference is found in the Pipe Rolls of Lancashire from 1376, which mention a "William de Boutewelle."
The BOUTWELL name has been present in various historical records throughout the centuries. In the Hearth Tax Rolls of Durham from 1666, a "John Boutwell" is listed. The Protestation Returns of 1641-1642, which recorded those who took an oath of allegiance to the Crown, include several individuals with the BOUTWELL surname in counties such as Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.
Prominent individuals with the BOUTWELL surname include Sir John Boutwell (c. 1570-1626), an English judge and politician who served as Recorder of Doncaster and represented Gatton in Parliament. Another notable figure was Ralph Boutwell (1604-1668), an English clergyman and author who served as the Bishop of Cork and Ross in Ireland.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the BOUTWELL name is Samuel Boutwell (1612-1686), who emigrated from England to Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1630s. George S. Boutwell (1818-1905) was an American statesman who served as the 20th Governor of Massachusetts and the 28th United States Secretary of the Treasury.
Other notable individuals with the BOUTWELL surname include James T. Boutwell (1901-1987), an American historian and author, and Robert P. Boutwell (1926-2008), a professor of psychiatry and the founding director of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine's Division of Bioethics.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boutwell
Among Census respondents with the surname Boutwell, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Boutwell 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 Boutwell surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.1% · 4,053
- Two or more races3.8% · 169
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 116
- Black or African American2.3% · 105
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 30
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 27
Timeline
Historical Census data for Boutwell
Boutwell 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
#7,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,654
+124 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 1.58
Rank movement Down 341 places
2020
#7,159
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,500
-154 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 1.51
Rank movement Up 23 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,841 | 4,530 | 1.68 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,182 | 4,654 | 1.58 | +124 bearers (+2.7%) | Down 341 places |
| 2020 | #7,159 | 4,500 | 1.51 | -154 bearers (-3.3%) | Up 23 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 Boutwell 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 | #7,182 | #7,159 | 0.3% |
| Count | 4,654 | 4,500 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.58 | 1.51 | -4.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Boutwell bearers went from 4,654 to 4,500 (-3.3% change). The surname moved up 23 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,182 to #7,159.
FAQ
Boutwell surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Boutwell?
Name Census estimates that about 5,160 living Americans carry the surname Boutwell. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 66,425 residents.
How common is Boutwell?
Boutwell ranks #7,159 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.51 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 4,500 people with the surname Boutwell. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,160), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.51 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.51 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 Boutwell.
Has Boutwell become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Boutwell went from 4,654 recorded bearers to 4,500. That is a decrease of 154 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #7,182 to #7,159.
What does the Census say about the background of Boutwell?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boutwell, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Boutwell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.1% (4,053 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Boutwell appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.1%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Boutwell (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 Boutwell mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "dwelling near a spring or stream" 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 Boutwell (1.51 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 surname Boutwell?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.