2000
#136,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Bovier
A French surname derived from the place name Bouviers, referring to someone from that locale.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Bovier. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bovier 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Bovier in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bovier, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.6%) and Black (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bovier
The surname BOVIER is of French origin and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old French word "bovier," which means "cowherd" or "oxherd." The name likely originated in the northern regions of France, particularly in Normandy and Brittany, where cattle farming was a common occupation.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the BOVIER surname can be found in the 13th century in the records of the Duchy of Normandy. The name appeared as "Boviers" and referred to individuals who tended to cattle and oxen. Over time, the spelling evolved to its current form, BOVIER.
In the 14th century, the BOVIER surname was mentioned in the Catalan Atlas, a renowned medieval world map created by the Majorcan cartographer Abraham Cresques. The atlas included a list of place names, some of which were derived from surnames like BOVIER, indicating the presence of families with this name in certain regions.
During the 16th century, the BOVIER surname gained prominence in the town of Longwy, located in the northeastern part of France near the Belgian border. Jean BOVIER (1510-1572) was a notable member of the family who served as the mayor of Longwy and played a crucial role in the town's administration during a period of religious turmoil.
Another famous bearer of the BOVIER surname was Edme BOVIER (1785-1853), a French botanist and naturalist who made significant contributions to the study of plants and their classification. He was born in Sauvigny-les-Bois, Bourgogne, and his works included descriptions of numerous plant species found in France and neighboring regions.
In the 18th century, the BOVIER family established itself in the United States through the immigration of Jacques BOVIER (1718-1790), who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His descendants went on to become influential members of American society, with one notable figure being Edith Bouvier Beale (1917-2002), a socialite and relative of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis.
The BOVIER surname has also been associated with several place names in France, such as Boville, a commune in the Normandy region, and Bouvier, a hamlet in the Rhône-Alpes region. These place names likely derived from the BOVIER surname or vice versa, reflecting the historical presence and influence of families bearing this name in those areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bovier
Among Census respondents with the surname Bovier, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.6%) and Black (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Bovier 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 Bovier surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.7% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino13.6% · 16
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bovier
Bovier 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
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
-1 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,470 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+6 bearers (+5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 3,742 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #136,783 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 10,470 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.4%) | Up 3,742 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 Bovier 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 | #147,253 | #143,511 | 2.5% |
| Count | 112 | 118 | 5.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bovier bearers went from 112 to 118 (+5.4% change). The surname moved up 3,742 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #143,511.
FAQ
Bovier surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bovier?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Bovier. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Bovier?
Bovier ranks #143,511 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 118 people with the surname Bovier. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), 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 Bovier.
Has Bovier become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bovier went from 112 recorded bearers to 118. That is an increase of 6 (+5.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #147,253 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Bovier?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bovier, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.6%) and Black (0.8%). 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 Bovier in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.7% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bovier appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.7%), Hispanic (13.6%), Black (0.8%). 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 Bovier (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 Bovier mean?
A French surname derived from the place name Bouviers, referring to someone from that locale. 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 Bovier (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 people have the last name Bovier?
You can see how many people have the surname Bovier on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.