2000
#4,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,816
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.53
Rare Last name
Boynton
A locational surname derived from any of the places in England named Boynton, meaning "Boia's town."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,642 Americans carry the last name Boynton. That puts it at #5,100 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.23 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 44,851 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Boynton 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 Boynton with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.6K
1 in 44,851
Census rank
#5,100
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,664 bearers of the surname Boynton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.23 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5100th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Boynton, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.9%. The next largest groups are Black (12.2%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boynton
The surname Boynton has its origins in England, dating back to the 11th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "bun" (dwelling) and "tun" (enclosure), indicating that the name originally referred to a homestead or settlement.
The name is thought to be locational, meaning it originated from a specific place. In this case, it is likely related to the village of Boynton in Yorkshire, England. The earliest recorded spelling of the name was "Boynton" in the Domesday Book of 1086, a manuscript commissioned by William the Conqueror to record landowners and their holdings.
In the 13th century, records show a Sir Ingram de Boynton, a knight who participated in the Crusades. Another notable bearer of the name was Sir Robert Boynton, who served as a member of Parliament for Yorkshire in the late 14th century.
The Boynton family played a significant role in the Wars of the Roses, with Sir Henry Boynton (1369-1446) being a staunch supporter of the House of Lancaster. His son, Sir Thomas Boynton (1401-1472), was a prominent military commander during the conflict.
During the Tudor period, Sir Matthew Boynton (1528-1594) was a member of the Privy Council under Queen Elizabeth I and served as the High Sheriff of Yorkshire. His grandson, Sir Matthew Boynton (1579-1647), was a respected lawyer and judge.
In the 17th century, Sir Francis Boynton (1618-1689) was a prominent English writer and translator, known for his work on Virgil's Aeneid. Another notable figure was Sir Griffith Boynton (1670-1736), a baronet and landowner in Yorkshire.
The name has also been associated with several places in the United States, such as Boynton Beach, Florida, which was named after the Boynton family who settled in the area in the late 19th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boynton
Among Census respondents with the surname Boynton, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.9%. The next largest groups are Black (12.2%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Boynton 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 Boynton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.9% · 5,326
- Black or African American12.2% · 811
- Two or more races3.5% · 233
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 199
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 53
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 42
Timeline
Historical Census data for Boynton
Boynton 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
#5,024
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,983
+167 bearers (+2.5%)
Per 100,000 2.37
Rank movement Down 267 places
2020
#5,100
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,664
-319 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 2.23
Rank movement Down 76 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,757 | 6,816 | 2.53 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,024 | 6,983 | 2.37 | +167 bearers (+2.5%) | Down 267 places |
| 2020 | #5,100 | 6,664 | 2.23 | -319 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 76 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 Boynton 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 | #5,024 | #5,100 | -1.5% |
| Count | 6,983 | 6,664 | -4.6% |
| Per 100K | 2.37 | 2.23 | -5.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Boynton bearers went from 6,983 to 6,664 (-4.6% change). The surname moved down 76 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,024 to #5,100.
FAQ
Boynton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Boynton?
Name Census estimates that about 7,642 living Americans carry the surname Boynton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 44,851 residents.
How common is Boynton?
Boynton ranks #5,100 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.23 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 6,664 people with the surname Boynton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,642), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.23 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.23 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 Boynton.
Has Boynton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Boynton went from 6,983 recorded bearers to 6,664. That is a decrease of 319 (-4.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,024 to #5,100.
What does the Census say about the background of Boynton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boynton, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.9%. The next largest groups are Black (12.2%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Boynton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.9% (5,326 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Boynton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.9%), Black (12.2%), Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Boynton (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 Boynton mean?
A locational surname derived from any of the places in England named Boynton, meaning "Boia's town." 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 Boynton (2.23 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 Boynton?
For a quick modern take, check how common the surname Boynton is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.