Explore the Family Name Boucher
The meaning of Boucher
1. French: occupational name for a butcher or slaughterer, from Old French bouchier, a derivative of bouc ‘ram’. Compare Bouche 2, Bouchey, Bouchie, Boushey, Boushie, Bush 5, Busha 1, Busher, and Bushey 3. 2. English: variant of Butcher, a cognate of 1 above. History: Gaspard Boucher from Mortagne-au-Perche in Orne, France, married Nicole Lemaire in France c.1619, died in Trois-Rivières, QC, c.1665. His descendants also bear the surname Demonbreun. Marin Boucher from Mortagne-au-Perche in Orne, France, married first Julienne Baril in Mortagne-au-Perche in 1611, and second Perrine Mallet in Saint-Langis-lès-Mortagne in Orne c.1628, died in Château-Richer, QC, in 1671. His descendants also bear the surnames Desroches and Desrosiers 1. Jean Boucher from Chaix in Vendée, France, married Marie-Madeleine Paré in Beaupré, QC, in 1678. Jean Boucher dit Belleville from Sainte-Verge in Deux-Sèvres, France, married Marie Racine in Quebec City, QC, in 1696. Pierre Boucher dit Ducuront and Saint-Pierre from Castelnau-Rivière-Basse in Hautes-Pyrénées, France, married Marie Labbé in Saint-François, Île d’Orléans, QC, in 1699. — The surname Boucher of French origin is listed in the (US) National Huguenot Society’s register of qualified Huguenot ancestors. Some characteristic forenames: French Armand, Normand, Andre, Marcel, Emile, Gilles, Lucien, Yvon, Adrien, Jacques, Laurent, Alcide.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Boucher in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Boucher saw a slight decrease in popularity between 2000 and 2010. The ranking of the surname dropped from 1677 to 1791, signifying a change of -6.8%. However, the actual count of individuals with this surname increased marginally from 19,554 in 2000 to 20,050 in 2010, indicating a growth of 2.54%. The proportion of people with the Boucher surname per 100,000 decreased by -6.21% during this decade.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,677 | #1,791 | -6.8% |
| Count | 19,554 | 20,050 | 2.54% |
| Proportion per 100k | 7.25 | 6.8 | -6.21% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Boucher
The Decennial U.S. Census data also reveals shifts in the ethnic identity associated with the Boucher surname from 2000 to 2010. There was an increase in the percentage of people of Asian/Pacific Islander, Two or more races, Hispanic, Black, and American Indian and Alaskan Native ethnicities bearing this surname. The most significant growth was seen in the Asian/Pacific Islander group with a 48.94% increase, followed by the Black ethnicity with a 37.41% rise. Conversely, there was a minor dip in the White ethnicity, descending from 94.87% in 2000 to 93.21% in 2010, which represents a -1.75% change.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 94.87% | 93.21% | -1.75% |
| Black | 1.47% | 2.02% | 37.41% |
| Hispanic | 1.36% | 1.86% | 36.76% |
| Two or More Races | 1.28% | 1.6% | 25% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.47% | 0.7% | 48.94% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.56% | 0.61% | 8.93% |
Boucher ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Boucher is British & Irish, which comprises 42.5% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (32.0%) and Eastern European (5.2%). Additional ancestries include Spanish & Portuguese, Italian, Scandinavian, Ashkenazi Jewish, and Chinese.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| British & Irish | 42.5% |
| French & German | 32.0% |
| Eastern European | 5.2% |
| Other | 20.4% |
Possible origins of the surname Boucher
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Boucher have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 74.20% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 74.00% |
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 73.40% |
| West Midlands, United Kingdom | 73.20% |
| Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 73.00% |
What Boucher haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Boucher is E-L791, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup E-L791 is descended from haplogroup E-M96. Other common haplogroups include R-U152 and R-CTS241, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Pelaez, Feinstein, Schulman, Feinberg, Gottlieb, Posner, Wasserman, Michelson, Wolfson, Mendelsohn.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Boucher surname are: H1, T2b, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins E-M96
Your paternal lineage may be linked to Napolean Bonaparte
The French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte descended from the common ancestor of haplogroup E-M34. The male line of the Bonaparte family was from Tuscany, where Napoleon's earliest known male ancestors lived for at least six generations. Eleven generations before Napoleon, his ancestor, Giovanni, was the first to leave Tuscany for Corsica. The Bonaparte lineage lived in Corsica for ten generations before Napoleon's father, Charles-Marie Bonaparte. Charles-Marie (born in 1746) married Napoleon's mother, Letizia Ramolino, at the age of 18 in 1764.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname Boucher have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Boucher" Surname 37.4%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"Boucher" Surname 37.6%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Boucher" Surname 21.5%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Boucher" Surname 17.5%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Boucher?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Boucher are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition