The Boykin surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 17,255 people carried this name — #2,096 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 17,100 people counted. That is up 4% from 16,565 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Boykin surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a nickname: ‘the boy-kin’.

His entry covers Boykin and Boykins.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 125 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

25 families named Boykin, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 147 people lived in those households, 5.9 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 3 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

North Carolina 21
South Carolina 4

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 230 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Boykin in American newspapers,
1899–1915.

Newspaper page from The Bridgeport Evening Farmer carrying the name Boykin
The Bridgeport Evening Farmer 1914-12-03
Newspaper page from Daily Camera carrying the name Boykin
Daily Camera 1899-10-17
Newspaper page from The Denver Star carrying the name Boykin
The Denver Star 1915-10-23

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 41,328 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Boykin in Australian newspapers,
1920s–1930s.

30 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Boykin. The most, 20, date from the 1930s.

Articles, by state

Victoria 10
Queensland 4
Western Australia 4
South Australia 2
ACT (Canberra) 1
New South Wales 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Boykin.

Who carried it

People named Boykin,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Burwell Boykin
    Burwell Boykin 1750–1817
  • Burwell Boykin
    Burwell Boykin 1751–1817
  • Samuel Boykin
    Samuel Boykin 1829–1899 · Baptist minister
  • Frank William Boykin
    Frank William Boykin 1885–1969 · politician
  • Samuel Boykin 1786–1848 · naturalist
  • Mary Whitaker Boykin 1843–1910

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 8 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Boykin,
in the records of the United States.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States881 records

881 records of the Boykin name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 561
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 236
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 42
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 26
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 10
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 2
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Thomas J. Boykin

    Born 1914 in South Carolina. Enlisted 1941 at Camp Upton Yaphank, New York; shipping clerk. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1989, buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Prentis Barney Boykin

    Born 1947; from Vancouver, Washington. U.S. Army, armor crewman; killed in action 1968 in Darlac, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record John Wesley Boykin

    Confederate Army veteran. Born 1845, died 1925; buried at Black Creek Umc Church Cemetery, Sylvania, Georgia.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 881 records for Boykin in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Boykin.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Boykin 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.

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