Explore the Family Name Boye
The meaning of Boye
1. North German and Danish: from an ancient Germanic personal name, Boio, possibly meaning ‘boy’ (see Boy 1) or, alternatively, representing a variant of Bothe, with the regular Low German loss of the dental between vowels. This surname is also found in Norway and Sweden. Compare Boie. 2. English: variant of Boy, a cognate of 1 above. 3. Irish and Scottish: variant of Bowie. 4. Norwegian (Bøye): variant of Bøje, a habitational name from the farm name Bøje in the province of Oppland, the dative plural case of Old Norse bǿr ‘farmstead’. Compare Boyer. 5. French (Boyé): variant of Boyer. 6. West African (mainly Senegal): name found among the Wolof people, of unexplained etymology. Some characteristic forenames: French Olivier. Scandinavian Erik.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Boye in the United States?
The surname Boye saw a slight increase in popularity between 2000 and 2010, according to data from the Decennial U.S. Census. In 2000, it was ranked as the 25,374th most common surname, but by 2010, it had risen to the 24,736th position, a change of 2.51 percent. The number of individuals with this surname also grew during this period, from 916 people in 2000 to 1,008 people in 2010, an increase of 10.04 percent. However, its proportion per 100,000 people remained constant at 0.34.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #25,374 | #24,736 | 2.51% |
| Count | 916 | 1,008 | 10.04% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.34 | 0.34 | 0% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Boye
In terms of ethnicity, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census showed significant changes for the Boye surname between 2000 and 2010. The percentage of people with this surname identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander increased by 43.64 percent, while those identifying as belonging to two or more races rose by 72.45 percent. The percentage identifying as White dropped by 13.80 percent, but those identifying as Black saw a substantial increase of 65.50 percent. The Hispanic and American Indian/Alaskan Native populations with the Boye surname also saw increases, at 12.29 percent and 11.83 percent respectively.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 78.49% | 67.66% | -13.8% |
| Black | 13.97% | 23.12% | 65.5% |
| Hispanic | 4.15% | 4.66% | 12.29% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 1.86% | 2.08% | 11.83% |
| Two or More Races | 0.98% | 1.69% | 72.45% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.55% | 0.79% | 43.64% |