2000
#13,917
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,989
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.74
Rare Last name
Boysen
A Danish-Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Boy," a pet form of the Scandinavian name Boje or Boie.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,063 Americans carry the last name Boysen. That puts it at #15,631 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 166,144 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Boysen 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
2.1K
1 in 166,144
Census rank
#15,631
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,799 bearers of the surname Boysen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15631st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Boysen, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boysen
The surname BOYSEN originated in Germany during the Middle Ages. It is a patronymic name, derived from the personal name Boje, which was a short form of the Old German name Bodegar or Bodger. This name was composed of the elements "bodu" meaning "messenger" and "ger" meaning "spear."
The earliest recorded instances of the name BOYSEN can be found in medieval documents from northern Germany, particularly in the regions of Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg. In these areas, the name was often spelled as Boisen or Boysen, reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions.
One of the earliest known records of the name BOYSEN dates back to the 13th century, when a man named Henricus Boisen was mentioned in a legal document from the town of Lübeck in 1248. Another notable early reference is found in the Lübecker Reichsmatrikel, a register of citizens from Lübeck, where a Hinrich Boysen was recorded in 1347.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name BOYSEN became more widespread across northern Germany and parts of Denmark. Some notable individuals bearing this surname include Hans Boysen (1542-1612), a German theologian and reformer from Schleswig-Holstein, and Jörgen Boysen (1585-1650), a Danish sea captain and merchant who established trading routes to India and the Dutch East Indies.
In the 18th century, the BOYSEN name appeared in various historical records from Mecklenburg, including the birth of Johann Boysen in 1732, a farmer and landowner from the village of Graal-Müritz. Another notable figure was Claus Boysen (1751-1828), a German writer and poet who was born in Schleswig-Holstein and is known for his works in the Low German dialect.
The 19th century saw the BOYSEN name spread further across Germany and into other parts of Europe, as well as to the Americas and other parts of the world through emigration. One prominent individual was Carl Boysen (1827-1898), a Danish painter and author who was born in Copenhagen and is known for his depictions of scenes from Danish rural life.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boysen
Among Census respondents with the surname Boysen, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Boysen 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 Boysen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.5% · 1,664
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 68
- Two or more races2.4% · 44
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 12
- Black or African American0.6% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Boysen
Boysen 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
#14,579
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,043
+54 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Down 662 places
2020
#15,631
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,799
-244 bearers (-11.9%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Down 1,052 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,917 | 1,989 | 0.74 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,579 | 2,043 | 0.69 | +54 bearers (+2.7%) | Down 662 places |
| 2020 | #15,631 | 1,799 | 0.60 | -244 bearers (-11.9%) | Down 1,052 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 Boysen 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 | #14,579 | #15,631 | -7.2% |
| Count | 2,043 | 1,799 | -11.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.69 | 0.60 | -12.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Boysen bearers went from 2,043 to 1,799 (-11.9% change). The surname moved down 1,052 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,579 to #15,631.
FAQ
Boysen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Boysen?
Name Census estimates that about 2,063 living Americans carry the surname Boysen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 166,144 residents.
How common is Boysen?
Boysen ranks #15,631 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.60 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 1,799 people with the surname Boysen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,063), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.60 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 Boysen.
Has Boysen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Boysen went from 2,043 recorded bearers to 1,799. That is a decrease of 244 (-11.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,579 to #15,631.
What does the Census say about the background of Boysen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boysen, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Boysen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (1,664 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Boysen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.5%), Hispanic (3.8%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Boysen (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 Boysen mean?
A Danish-Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Boy," a pet form of the Scandinavian name Boje or Boie. 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 Boysen (0.60 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 share the surname Boysen?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.