Fun Facts About the Name Boston
- More than 11 thousand babies named Boston: U.S. records list 11,942 babies given the name Boston from 1880 through 2025. Even 1,043 girls received the name Boston - about 1 girl for every 10 boys.
What Does the Name Boston Mean?
Boston is a transferred place name and surname whose established meaning is Botwulf's town or Botwulf's settlement. It comes from the town of Boston in Lincolnshire, England, whose name was formed in Old English. The first element is the genitive of the Old English personal name Botwulf (also Botulf), a compound of bōt meaning remedy or help and wulf meaning wolf. The second element is tūn meaning enclosure, farmstead, settlement, or town. The Old English form behind the name was Botwulfes tūn, which was shortened to Boston. The personal name belongs to St Botolph (Botwulf), a seventh-century Anglo-Saxon abbot; Botolph is the later customary form of his name. Literally, the place name means Botwulf's settlement, while the customary interpretation is St Botolph's town. As a given name, Boston inherits the place-name meaning rather than a separate personal-name meaning.
Boston Name History & Origins
The name Boston belongs originally to a town in Lincolnshire, England, named for the Anglo-Saxon churchman Botwulf, better known as St Botolph. Domesday Book records the place as Botulueston in 1086; later medieval spellings include Botolfston, and the name was shortened to Boston by the Middle English period. The Lincolnshire town developed as a port. In 1630, English colonists led by John Winthrop settled on the Shawmut Peninsula in Massachusetts and named their town Boston after Boston, Lincolnshire; it had briefly been called Trimountain. That American city made the name widely familiar. Boston is also an English locative surname for a person from Boston. As a first name, it is a transferred use of the place name and surname, used in English-speaking countries, especially the United States.
How Popular is the Name Boston?
Boston recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2014. Its best rank was #536 in 2012.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #3,037 | 54 | 0.0034% |
| 2024 | #3,509 | 44 | 0.0027% |
| 2023 | #3,710 | 41 | 0.0026% |
| 2022 | #3,604 | 43 | 0.0026% |
| 2021 | #3,119 | 52 | 0.0032% |
| 2020 | #3,555 | 42 | 0.0026% |
| 2019 | #3,046 | 53 | 0.0032% |
| 2018 | #3,685 | 41 | 0.0024% |
| 2017 | #3,705 | 41 | 0.0024% |
| 2016 | #3,241 | 50 | 0.0028% |
| 2015 | #3,855 | 39 | 0.0022% |
| 2014 | #2,690 | 65 | 0.0036% |
| 2013 | #3,324 | 48 | 0.0027% |
| 2012 | #3,274 | 50 | 0.0028% |
| 2011 | #4,372 | 33 | 0.0019% |
| 2010 | #4,409 | 33 | 0.0019% |
| 2009 | #4,382 | 34 | 0.0019% |
| 2008 | #3,874 | 41 | 0.0022% |
| 2007 | #4,226 | 36 | 0.0019% |
| 2006 | #4,372 | 33 | 0.0017% |
| 2005 | #4,500 | 30 | 0.0016% |
| 2004 | #5,233 | 24 | 0.0013% |
| 2003 | #6,351 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 2002 | #6,435 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2001 | #9,468 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2000 | #11,969 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1999 | #7,790 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1998 | #12,666 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1997 | #7,830 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1996 | #13,802 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1995 | #8,863 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1994 | #11,964 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1993 | #8,135 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1992 | #13,543 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #620 | 451 | 0.0264% |
| 2024 | #627 | 449 | 0.0262% |
| 2023 | #635 | 433 | 0.0253% |
| 2022 | #616 | 454 | 0.0260% |
| 2021 | #601 | 464 | 0.0265% |
| 2020 | #596 | 462 | 0.0268% |
| 2019 | #607 | 451 | 0.0251% |
| 2018 | #640 | 407 | 0.0224% |
| 2017 | #658 | 389 | 0.0210% |
| 2016 | #638 | 416 | 0.0219% |
| 2015 | #605 | 451 | 0.0235% |
| 2014 | #555 | 497 | 0.0259% |
| 2013 | #566 | 465 | 0.0246% |
| 2012 | #536 | 487 | 0.0257% |
| 2011 | #556 | 456 | 0.0240% |
| 2010 | #546 | 462 | 0.0241% |
| 2009 | #537 | 492 | 0.0248% |
| 2008 | #563 | 461 | 0.0226% |
| 2007 | #627 | 388 | 0.0187% |
| 2006 | #631 | 374 | 0.0182% |
| 2005 | #687 | 302 | 0.0151% |
| 2004 | #909 | 188 | 0.0095% |
| 2003 | #1,155 | 130 | 0.0066% |
| 2002 | #1,201 | 116 | 0.0060% |
| 2001 | #1,592 | 75 | 0.0039% |
| 2000 | #1,479 | 83 | 0.0042% |
| 1999 | #1,531 | 73 | 0.0038% |
| 1998 | #1,502 | 73 | 0.0038% |
| 1997 | #1,658 | 60 | 0.0032% |
| 1996 | #1,708 | 55 | 0.0029% |
| 1995 | #1,604 | 57 | 0.0030% |
| 1994 | #1,896 | 44 | 0.0023% |
| 1993 | #2,259 | 34 | 0.0017% |
| 1992 | #1,805 | 46 | 0.0023% |
| 1991 | #2,690 | 25 | 0.0012% |
| 1990 | #2,376 | 29 | 0.0014% |
| 1989 | #2,703 | 23 | 0.0011% |
| 1988 | #2,977 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 1987 | #3,087 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 1986 | #4,502 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1985 | #5,205 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1984 | #4,602 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1982 | #3,715 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1981 | #3,439 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1980 | #4,991 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1978 | #5,895 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1977 | #5,201 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1970 | #4,283 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1969 | #4,468 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1964 | #3,644 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1963 | #4,102 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1962 | #3,676 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1956 | #3,246 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1955 | #3,937 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1954 | #2,972 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1951 | #3,394 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1950 | #3,060 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1948 | #3,030 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1947 | #3,115 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1946 | #2,716 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1945 | #2,263 | 10 | 0.0007% |
| 1944 | #3,141 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1943 | #2,293 | 11 | 0.0008% |
| 1942 | #2,396 | 10 | 0.0007% |
| 1941 | #2,681 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1940 | #2,501 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1939 | #3,541 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1938 | #2,200 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1937 | #2,507 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1936 | #2,890 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1935 | #2,740 | 8 | 0.0008% |
| 1934 | #2,410 | 10 | 0.0010% |
| 1933 | #2,386 | 10 | 0.0010% |
| 1932 | #3,410 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1931 | #3,428 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1929 | #2,789 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1928 | #2,683 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1927 | #4,272 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1926 | #1,668 | 21 | 0.0019% |
| 1925 | #2,612 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1924 | #2,365 | 13 | 0.0011% |
| 1922 | #2,051 | 16 | 0.0015% |
| 1921 | #1,709 | 21 | 0.0019% |
| 1920 | #2,352 | 13 | 0.0012% |
| 1919 | #2,906 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1918 | #2,908 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1917 | #2,299 | 12 | 0.0013% |
| 1916 | #2,167 | 13 | 0.0015% |
| 1915 | #2,082 | 13 | 0.0015% |
| 1914 | #1,555 | 16 | 0.0024% |
| 1913 | #2,111 | 8 | 0.0016% |
| 1912 | #2,309 | 6 | 0.0014% |
| 1910 | #1,210 | 8 | 0.0041% |
| 1909 | #1,478 | 5 | 0.0030% |
| 1907 | #1,008 | 8 | 0.0054% |
| 1905 | #1,255 | 5 | 0.0038% |
| 1902 | #1,164 | 5 | 0.0041% |
| 1901 | #965 | 6 | 0.0056% |
| 1893 | #1,055 | 5 | 0.0045% |
| 1891 | #774 | 7 | 0.0069% |
| 1886 | #982 | 5 | 0.0045% |
| 1884 | #988 | 5 | 0.0044% |
| 1880 | #928 | 5 | 0.0045% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Boston Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You can go to great heights and equally great depths. You are emotional and fixed in your opinions. You are hospitable, sentimental, often psychic, sometimes moody. You are ruled by love and the lack of it and feel a need to be encouraged and appreciated. You are frank, methodical and believe in law, system and order.
Dependable, very down-to-earth and well grounded, you are always looking for meaningful work, a career where you can take pride in your work and do the best job you are capable of. Your prime desire is to build protected and secure environment at home and at work. You can be very persuasive in achieving goals and gaining objectives. You can be very detailed and well-organized and possess great organizational skills. At times you may appear too stubborn and overly critical to others, but your practical approach to life and productivity makes you one of the most beneficent members of community.
✦ Boston's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Boston's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.