2000
#4,517
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,232
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.68
Rare Last name
Boren
Derived from a place name meaning "spring" or "stream" in Old English, likely referring to someone who lived near one.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,879 Americans carry the last name Boren. That puts it at #4,957 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.30 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 43,502 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Boren 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
7.9K
1 in 43,502
Census rank
#4,957
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,871 bearers of the surname Boren in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.30 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4957th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Boren, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boren
The surname Boren is believed to have originated in Scotland, with the earliest recorded instances dating back to the 16th century. It is thought to be a variant of the Gaelic name Boran, which means "small, diminutive." The name may have also been derived from the Old English word "bur," meaning "a cottage or dwelling."
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Boren surname can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of homage rolls rendered to Edward I of England by Scottish noblemen and clergy. The rolls list a "John Boren" as a landholder in the county of Ayrshire.
In the 17th century, the Boren surname began to appear in various parish records and court documents across Scotland, particularly in the regions of Aberdeenshire, Angus, and Fife. Notable individuals with the surname during this period include Robert Boren (1620-1692), a merchant and burgess of Aberdeen, and James Boren (1645-1718), a landowner in the parish of Arbroath.
As the Boren family spread throughout the British Isles, variations in spelling emerged, such as Borin, Borren, and Bouren. In England, the name was sometimes anglicized to Bourne or Burn.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Boren surname in North America can be traced back to John Boren, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 from Scotland. His descendants later settled in various parts of the American colonies and the United States.
Other notable individuals with the surname Boren include:
1. Sir John Boren (1768-1839), a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars.
2. William Boren (1786-1865), an American politician who served as the 7th Governor of Indiana from 1822 to 1825.
3. Mary Boren (1810-1890), an Irish-born Australian pioneer and businesswoman who played a significant role in the early settlement of Brisbane.
4. John Boren (1829-1892), an American outlaw and gunfighter who was active in the American Old West during the latter half of the 19th century.
5. Lyle Boren (1909-1992), an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. Senator from Oklahoma from 1937 to 1949.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boren
Among Census respondents with the surname Boren, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Boren 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 Boren surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.9% · 6,175
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 289
- Two or more races3.9% · 265
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 62
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 47
- Black or African American0.5% · 33
Timeline
Historical Census data for Boren
Boren 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
#4,625
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,672
+440 bearers (+6.1%)
Per 100,000 2.60
Rank movement Down 108 places
2020
#4,957
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,871
-801 bearers (-10.4%)
Per 100,000 2.30
Rank movement Down 332 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,517 | 7,232 | 2.68 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,625 | 7,672 | 2.60 | +440 bearers (+6.1%) | Down 108 places |
| 2020 | #4,957 | 6,871 | 2.30 | -801 bearers (-10.4%) | Down 332 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 Boren 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 | #4,625 | #4,957 | -7.2% |
| Count | 7,672 | 6,871 | -10.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.60 | 2.30 | -11.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Boren bearers went from 7,672 to 6,871 (-10.4% change). The surname moved down 332 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,625 to #4,957.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Boren
FAQ
Boren surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Boren?
Name Census estimates that about 7,879 living Americans carry the surname Boren. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 43,502 residents.
How common is Boren?
Boren ranks #4,957 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.30 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 6,871 people with the surname Boren. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,879), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.3 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.30 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 Boren.
Has Boren become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Boren went from 7,672 recorded bearers to 6,871. That is a decrease of 801 (-10.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,625 to #4,957.
What does the Census say about the background of Boren?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boren, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Boren in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.9% (6,175 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Boren appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.9%), Hispanic (4.2%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Boren (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 Boren mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "spring" or "stream" in Old English, likely referring to someone who lived near one. 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 Boren (2.30 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 surname Boren?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.