The Boer surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 1,395 people carried this name — #19,379 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 212,800 people counted. That is up 5% from 1,331 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Boer surname
From Dutch Boer, from boer (“farmer”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Boer» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 94 people named Boer live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 86 people named Boer.
28 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 19 départements, most often Nord.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 28 people named Boer live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Antwerp.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
26 people named Boer live in Switzerland.
They live in 5 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In the Nordic population registers
23 people named Boer is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
Who carried it
People named Boer,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Antal Boér 1802–1892 · politician -
Willem Richard Boer 1818–1894 · mayor -
Richard Constant Boer 1863–1929 · university teacher -
Adriaan Boer 1875–1940 · photographer -
Baukje de Boer-Veenstra 1881– · speed skater
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 141 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Boer.
- Boehler 1,407 · U.S. census
- Boehm 10,730 · U.S. census
- Boehrer 120 · U.S. census
- Boehringer 562 · U.S. census
- Boel 165 · U.S. census
- Boell 299 · U.S. census
- Boeri 124 · U.S. census
- Boero 175 · U.S. census
- Boes 2,543 · U.S. census
- Boesch 1,587 · U.S. census
- Boespflug 253 · U.S. census
- Boey 195 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Boer is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.