2000
#1,677
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,554
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.25
Uncommon Last name
Boucher
An occupational surname referring to a butcher or someone who slaughters animals for meat.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 21,610 Americans carry the last name Boucher. That puts it at #1,869 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.30 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 15,861 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Boucher 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 Boucher with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
22K
1 in 15,861
Census rank
#1,869
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
19K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 18,845 bearers of the surname Boucher in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.30 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1869th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Boucher, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boucher
The surname Boucher originates from the French language and traces its roots back to medieval France. It is an occupational surname derived from the Old French word "bouchier," which means "butcher" or "slaughterer." This name was given to individuals whose profession involved working with meat, either as butchers or those engaged in slaughtering animals for their meat.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Boucher can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of England and parts of Wales commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The Domesday Book mentions several individuals with the surname Boucher, indicating the presence of French-speaking people in England shortly after the Norman Conquest.
During the Middle Ages, the Boucher family spread across various regions of France, including Normandy, Brittany, and Ile-de-France. The name also gained prominence in other parts of Europe, particularly in England, where French-speaking Normans settled after the conquest.
One notable bearer of the surname Boucher was Lancelot Boucher, a French theologian and philosopher who lived from around 1516 to 1593. He was a prominent figure in the Catholic Reformation and played a significant role in the Council of Trent.
Another influential individual with the Boucher surname was François Boucher, a French painter who lived from 1703 to 1770. He was a renowned Rococo artist known for his idyllic and decorative paintings, particularly those depicting pastoral scenes and mythological subjects.
In the realm of literature, Pierre Boucher, a French-Canadian explorer and author, left a lasting legacy. Born in 1622, he is remembered for his writings about the early settlement of New France, including the book "Histoire véritable et naturelle des moeurs et productions du pays de la Nouvelle-France vulgairement dite le Canada."
Moving to the 19th century, Jonathan Boucher, an English-American clergyman and writer, made significant contributions to the field of education. Born in 1738, he established several schools in Maryland and Virginia and wrote extensively on educational topics.
Lastly, the Boucher family name has been associated with various place names throughout history. For instance, the village of Boucher in Normandy, France, likely derived its name from the presence of individuals with the surname Boucher in the area.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boucher
Among Census respondents with the surname Boucher, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Boucher 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 Boucher surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.4% · 16,839
- Two or more races3.8% · 711
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 598
- Black or African American2.3% · 436
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 164
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 97
Timeline
Historical Census data for Boucher
Boucher 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
#1,791
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,050
+496 bearers (+2.5%)
Per 100,000 6.80
Rank movement Down 114 places
2020
#1,869
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,845
-1,205 bearers (-6.0%)
Per 100,000 6.30
Rank movement Down 78 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,677 | 19,554 | 7.25 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,791 | 20,050 | 6.80 | +496 bearers (+2.5%) | Down 114 places |
| 2020 | #1,869 | 18,845 | 6.30 | -1,205 bearers (-6.0%) | Down 78 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 Boucher 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 | #1,791 | #1,869 | -4.4% |
| Count | 20,050 | 18,845 | -6.0% |
| Per 100K | 6.80 | 6.30 | -7.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Boucher bearers went from 20,050 to 18,845 (-6.0% change). The surname moved down 78 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,791 to #1,869.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Boucher
FAQ
Boucher surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Boucher?
Name Census estimates that about 21,610 living Americans carry the surname Boucher. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 15,861 residents.
How common is Boucher?
Boucher ranks #1,869 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.30 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 18,845 people with the surname Boucher. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (21,610), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.3 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.30 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Boucher.
Has Boucher become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Boucher went from 20,050 recorded bearers to 18,845. That is a decrease of 1,205 (-6.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,791 to #1,869.
What does the Census say about the background of Boucher?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boucher, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Boucher in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.4% (16,839 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Boucher appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.4%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Boucher (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 Boucher mean?
An occupational surname referring to a butcher or someone who slaughters animals for meat. 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 Boucher (6.30 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 share the surname Boucher?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.