2000
#622
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 49,601
First available Census row
Per 100,000 18.39
Uncommon Last name
Boyer
A French occupational surname for a cowherd or ox driver, derived from the Old French "bovier."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 55,365 Americans carry the last name Boyer. That puts it at #690 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 16.15 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 6,191 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Boyer 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Boyer with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
55K
1 in 6,191
Census rank
#690
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
16.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
48K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 48,281 bearers of the surname Boyer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 16.15 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 690th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Boyer, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Black (5.5%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boyer
The surname Boyer is of French origin and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old French word 'bouvier', which means an ox-herder or cowherd. The name likely originated in the northern regions of France, particularly in areas where cattle farming was prevalent.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Boyer surname can be found in the 13th century Ecclesiastical Tax Rolls of Yorkshire, England. These records indicate that individuals bearing this name may have migrated from France to England during that time period.
In France, the name Boyer is closely associated with several regions, including Normandy, Brittany, and the Île-de-France region. The earliest known bearer of the name was Hugues Boyer, a landowner from the village of Boissy-la-Rivière in the Île-de-France region, who lived in the late 12th century.
The Boyer surname has a rich history and has been borne by many notable individuals over the centuries. One of the most famous bearers of this name was Charles Boyer, a French actor born in 1899 and known for his roles in Hollywood films such as "Gaslight" and "Love Affair". He passed away in 1978.
Another notable figure was Jacques Boyer, a French mathematician and philosopher who lived from 1592 to 1668. He made significant contributions to the field of mathematics and is credited with developing the concept of the vortex theory in physics.
In the realm of literature, Victor Marie Hugo's novel "Les Misérables" features a character named Thénardier, whose wife's maiden name was Boyer. This literary reference highlights the prevalence of the surname in 19th-century France.
The Boyer name has also been associated with several place names in France, such as Boyer-Éperon, a commune in the Drôme department, and Boyer, a village in the Saône-et-Loire department. These place names likely derived from individuals bearing the Boyer surname who settled in these areas.
Other notable individuals with the Boyer surname include Lucien Boyer, a French composer and songwriter born in 1876, and Jean-Pierre Boyer, the second President of Haiti, who ruled from 1818 to 1843.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boyer
Among Census respondents with the surname Boyer, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Black (5.5%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Boyer 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 Boyer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.6% · 41,335
- Black or African American5.5% · 2,649
- Two or more races3.7% · 1,810
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 1,761
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 443
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 283
Timeline
Historical Census data for Boyer
Boyer 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
#676
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 50,742
+1,141 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 17.20
Rank movement Down 54 places
2020
#690
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 48,281
-2,461 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 16.15
Rank movement Down 14 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #622 | 49,601 | 18.39 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #676 | 50,742 | 17.20 | +1,141 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 54 places |
| 2020 | #690 | 48,281 | 16.15 | -2,461 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 14 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 Boyer 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 | #676 | #690 | -2.1% |
| Count | 50,742 | 48,281 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 17.20 | 16.15 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Boyer bearers went from 50,742 to 48,281 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 14 positions in the national ranking, going from #676 to #690.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Boyer
FAQ
Boyer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Boyer?
Name Census estimates that about 55,365 living Americans carry the surname Boyer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 6,191 residents.
How common is Boyer?
Boyer ranks #690 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 16.15 per 100,000 residents, which is about 16 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 48,281 people with the surname Boyer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (55,365), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 16.15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 16.15 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 16 of them to have the surname Boyer.
Has Boyer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Boyer went from 50,742 recorded bearers to 48,281. That is a decrease of 2,461 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #676 to #690.
What does the Census say about the background of Boyer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boyer, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Black (5.5%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Boyer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.6% (41,335 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Boyer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.6%), Black (5.5%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Boyer (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 Boyer mean?
A French occupational surname for a cowherd or ox driver, derived from the Old French "bovier." 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 Boyer (16.15 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 are called Boyer?
You can see how many people have the surname Boyer on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.