2000
#19,734
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,263
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.47
Rare Last name
Boni
Italian occupational surname derived from the Latin "bonus" meaning "good" or "virtuous".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,621 Americans carry the last name Boni. That puts it at #19,195 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.47 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 211,446 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Boni 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 Boni with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.6K
1 in 211,446
Census rank
#19,195
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,414 bearers of the surname Boni in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.47 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 19195th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Boni, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.4%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (8.1%) and Hispanic (5.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boni
The surname Boni has its origins in Italy, where it first emerged in the Middle Ages. It is believed to be derived from the Latin word "bonus," meaning good or virtuous. This suggests that the name may have initially been given as a nickname to someone who was considered to be of good character or morals.
In its earliest recorded instances, the name appeared in various Italian manuscripts and records from the 13th and 14th centuries. One notable example is found in the Florentine Codex of 1298, which mentions a certain Guido Boni, a merchant from the city of Siena.
The Boni name is also closely associated with the town of Boni, located in the province of Novara, in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. It is likely that some branches of the Boni family originated from this area, and the surname may have been influenced by the place name.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the Boni surname was Girolamo Boni, a renowned Italian architect and engineer who lived from 1544 to 1614. He is best known for his work on the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome and the construction of the Palazzo Borghese.
Another notable figure with the Boni surname was Gaspar Boni, a 17th-century Italian painter and engraver. He was born in Milan in 1635 and is remembered for his religious artwork and portraits commissioned by the Church and nobility.
In the literary world, Giacomo Boni (1688-1766) was an Italian poet and playwright from Genoa. His works, including the tragedy "Merope," were highly regarded during the Enlightenment period.
The Boni surname also has connections to the world of music. Pietro Boni (1812-1892) was an Italian opera composer and conductor who was active in the mid-19th century. His operas, such as "Il Mercante di Venezia," were performed throughout Italy and Europe.
Lastly, one cannot discuss the Boni surname without mentioning Giacomo Boni (1859-1925), a pioneering Italian archaeologist. He is renowned for his excavations and restorations of ancient Roman sites, including the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill in Rome.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boni
Among Census respondents with the surname Boni, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.4%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (8.1%) and Hispanic (5.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Boni 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 Boni surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.4% · 1,095
- American Indian and Alaska Native8.1% · 115
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 83
- Black or African American4.0% · 57
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 38
- Two or more races1.8% · 26
Timeline
Historical Census data for Boni
Boni 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
#20,139
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,326
+63 bearers (+5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.45
Rank movement Down 405 places
2020
#19,195
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,414
+88 bearers (+6.6%)
Per 100,000 0.47
Rank movement Up 944 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #19,734 | 1,263 | 0.47 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #20,139 | 1,326 | 0.45 | +63 bearers (+5.0%) | Down 405 places |
| 2020 | #19,195 | 1,414 | 0.47 | +88 bearers (+6.6%) | Up 944 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 Boni 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 | #20,139 | #19,195 | 4.7% |
| Count | 1,326 | 1,414 | 6.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.45 | 0.47 | 5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Boni bearers went from 1,326 to 1,414 (+6.6% change). The surname moved up 944 positions in the national ranking, going from #20,139 to #19,195.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Boni
FAQ
Boni surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Boni?
Name Census estimates that about 1,621 living Americans carry the surname Boni. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 211,446 residents.
How common is Boni?
Boni ranks #19,195 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.47 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 1,414 people with the surname Boni. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,621), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.47 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.47 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 Boni.
Has Boni become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Boni went from 1,326 recorded bearers to 1,414. That is an increase of 88 (+6.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #20,139 to #19,195.
What does the Census say about the background of Boni?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boni, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.4%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (8.1%) and Hispanic (5.9%). 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 Boni in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.4% (1,095 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Boni appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (77.4%), American Indian/Alaska Native (8.1%), Hispanic (5.9%). 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 Boni (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 Boni mean?
Italian occupational surname derived from the Latin "bonus" meaning "good" or "virtuous". 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 Boni (0.47 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 Boni?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.