2000
#902
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 35,101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 13.01
Uncommon Last name
Booker
An occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of books.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 40,878 Americans carry the last name Booker. That puts it at #965 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 11.93 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 8,385 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Booker 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 Booker with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
41K
1 in 8,385
Census rank
#965
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
11.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
36K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 35,648 bearers of the surname Booker in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 11.93 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 965th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Booker, the largest self-reported group is Black at 62.7%. The next largest groups are White (27.4%) and Two or More Races (6.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Booker
The surname Booker is of English origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "boc," meaning "book," and was likely an occupational name given to a scribe, scholar, or someone involved in the production or selling of books.
The name first appeared in historical records in the 13th century, with early examples including Walter le Bokere, mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275, and Robert le Boker, recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1296.
During the Middle Ages, the surname was often found in various spellings, such as Booker, Boker, Bocker, and Bocker, reflecting the regional dialects and variations in pronunciation.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where a landowner named Richard le Bookere is listed as holding property in Berkshire.
The surname Booker has also been associated with certain place names, such as Booker in Buckinghamshire and Booker Hill in Norfolk. These places may have influenced the development of the surname or been named after individuals bearing the name.
Notable individuals with the surname Booker throughout history include:
1. John Booker (1601-1667), an English astrologer and scholar who published several works on astrology and astronomical calculations.
2. Richard Booker (c. 1670-1745), an English composer and organist who served as the Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey.
3. Calistus Booker (1798-1858), an American Baptist minister and abolitionist who advocated for the education of African Americans and the abolition of slavery.
4. George Booker (1753-1811), an English chess player and writer, considered one of the strongest players of his time and the author of the book "The Celebrated Matches of the Old Suffolk Gambit" (1819).
5. Cory Booker (born 1969), an American politician and the current junior United States Senator from New Jersey, who served as the 36th Mayor of Newark from 2006 to 2013.
While the surname Booker has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and Australia, due to migration and immigration patterns over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Booker
Among Census respondents with the surname Booker, the largest self-reported group is Black at 62.7%. The next largest groups are White (27.4%) and Two or More Races (6.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Booker 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 Booker surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American62.7% · 22,337
- White27.4% · 9,758
- Two or more races6.0% · 2,130
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 1,170
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 131
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 122
Timeline
Historical Census data for Booker
Booker 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
#941
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 36,840
+1,739 bearers (+5.0%)
Per 100,000 12.49
Rank movement Down 39 places
2020
#965
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 35,648
-1,192 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 11.93
Rank movement Down 24 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #902 | 35,101 | 13.01 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #941 | 36,840 | 12.49 | +1,739 bearers (+5.0%) | Down 39 places |
| 2020 | #965 | 35,648 | 11.93 | -1,192 bearers (-3.2%) | Down 24 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 Booker 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 | #941 | #965 | -2.6% |
| Count | 36,840 | 35,648 | -3.2% |
| Per 100K | 12.49 | 11.93 | -4.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Booker bearers went from 36,840 to 35,648 (-3.2% change). The surname moved down 24 positions in the national ranking, going from #941 to #965.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Booker
FAQ
Booker surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Booker?
Name Census estimates that about 40,878 living Americans carry the surname Booker. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 8,385 residents.
How common is Booker?
Booker ranks #965 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 11.93 per 100,000 residents, which is about 12 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 35,648 people with the surname Booker. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (40,878), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 11.93 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 11.93 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 12 of them to have the surname Booker.
Has Booker become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Booker went from 36,840 recorded bearers to 35,648. That is a decrease of 1,192 (-3.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #941 to #965.
What does the Census say about the background of Booker?
Among Census respondents with the surname Booker, the largest self-reported group is Black at 62.7%. The next largest groups are White (27.4%) and Two or More Races (6.0%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Booker in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.7% (22,337 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Booker appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (62.7%), White (27.4%), Two or More Races (6.0%). 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 Booker (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 Booker mean?
An occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of books. 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 Booker (11.93 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 Americans have the surname Booker?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.