NameCensus.

UK surname

Boll

A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) occupational surname referring to a person who manufactured or sold round wooden bowls.

In the 1881 census there were 72 people recorded with the Boll surname, ranking it #23,371 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 106, ranked #29,927, down from #23,371 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Earsdon, Norton-under-Cannock with Little Wyrley and Canford Magna. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Sunderland, North West Leicestershire and Newham.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Boll is 385 in 1861. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 47.2%.

1881 census count

72

Ranked #23,371

Modern count

106

2016, ranked #29,927

Peak year

1861

385 bearers

Map years

6

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Boll had 72 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #23,371 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 106 in 2016, ranked #29,927.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 385 in 1861.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Small Town Suburbia.

Boll surname distribution map

The map shows where the Boll surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Boll surname density by area, 2016 modern.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Boll over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 136 #13,892
1861 historical 385 #6,655
1881 historical 72 #23,371
1891 historical 252 #12,685
1901 historical 88 #24,270
1911 historical 94 #23,391
1997 modern 113 #25,106
1998 modern 126 #24,094
1999 modern 117 #25,362
2000 modern 117 #25,324
2001 modern 114 #25,344
2002 modern 117 #25,494
2003 modern 106 #26,775
2004 modern 99 #28,136
2005 modern 100 #28,025
2006 modern 106 #27,332
2007 modern 101 #28,505
2008 modern 103 #28,519
2009 modern 105 #28,815
2010 modern 107 #29,153
2011 modern 108 #28,811
2012 modern 111 #28,332
2013 modern 115 #28,176
2014 modern 111 #29,113
2015 modern 108 #29,512
2016 modern 106 #29,927

Geography

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Where Bolls are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Earsdon, Norton-under-Cannock with Little Wyrley, Canford Magna, Glasgow and Bedlington. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Sunderland, North West Leicestershire and Newham. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Earsdon Northumberland
2 Norton-under-Cannock with Little Wyrley Staffordshire
3 Canford Magna Dorset
4 Glasgow Lanark
5 Bedlington Northumberland

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Sunderland 030 Sunderland
2 North West Leicestershire 001 North West Leicestershire
3 Newham 014 Newham
4 Sunderland 025 Sunderland
5 Sunderland 032 Sunderland

Forenames

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First names often paired with Boll

These lists show first names that appear often with the Boll surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Boll

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Boll, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Retired Professionals

Group

Small Town Suburbia

Nationally, the Boll surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Small Town Suburbia, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Boll household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group is predominantly comprised of married couples with no resident dependent children, living in areas characterised neither by under-occupancy nor overcrowding throughout the UK in or adjacent to small towns. White ethnic groups and affiliation with Christianity predominates. Housing tends to be predominantly semi-detached or detached and workers are employed principally in managerial and professional occupations, with semi-skilled occupations also in evidence. These areas of the Supergroup are of higher population density.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Suburban Asian Communities

Group

Young Asian Family Terraces

Within London, Boll is most associated with areas classed as Young Asian Family Terraces, part of Suburban Asian Communities. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These households with dependent children typically live in terraced housing and are of (non-Chinese) Asian extraction. Individuals with Bangladeshi origins are particularly in evidence. Employment is often in elementary occupations or as process, plant or machine operatives, and part-time work is common. Students are much in evidence.

Wider London pattern

Many residents of these neighbourhoods are of (non-Chinese) Asian descent, with many identifying as Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi. Neighbourhoods are located across large areas of suburban west, north-east and south London. Detached, semi-detached and terraced houses are more prevalent than flats and socially rented housing is uncommon. Few residents live in communal establishments. Many families have dependent children, sometimes in overcrowded accommodation, and few households are ethnically mixed. Marriage rates are above the London average. The even age distribution, relative absence of individuals living alone and frequent incidence of households with children suggests that multi-generation households may be relatively common. Employment is often in skilled trades, elementary, sales and customer service occupations, and roles as process, plant, and machine operatives. Manufacturing and construction are well represented, along with employment in distribution, hotels, and restaurants. Many adults have only level 1, 2, or apprenticeship qualifications. English is not used at home by some residents. Religious affiliation is above average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Boll is most concentrated in decile 9 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

9
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Boll falls in decile 2 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

2
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Boll is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Boll, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Boll

The surname Boll originated in Germany during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old German word "bolle," which means a round loaf of bread or a small hill. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a round hill or worked as a baker.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Boll can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland. In some areas, the name was also spelled as "Bole" or "Bolle."

One of the earliest documented references to the name Boll can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of medieval charters and documents from Saxony, where a certain "Henricus Boll" is mentioned in a record dated 1286.

In the 14th century, the name appeared in the town records of Nuremberg, where a "Hans Boll" is listed as a resident in 1357. This suggests that the name was well-established in urban centers of Germany by this time.

A notable historical figure with the surname Boll was Johann Christian Boll (1776-1848), a German botanist and naturalist who made significant contributions to the study of plant life in the Rhineland region.

Another prominent individual was the German writer and Nobel Prize laureate, Heinrich Boll (1917-1985), whose works explored the moral and ethical dilemmas of post-World War II Germany.

In the 16th century, the name Boll can be found in various historical records from the city of Cologne, where it was sometimes associated with the occupation of baking or milling.

Other notable individuals with the surname Boll include Johann Boll (1590-1669), a German composer and organist from Braunschweig, and Franz Boll (1867-1924), a German classical philologist and scholar of ancient Greek literature.

The name Boll has also been linked to several place names in Germany, such as Bollberg (meaning "Boll's hill") and Bollschweil (meaning "Boll's village"), further reinforcing its geographical origins.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Boll families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Boll surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Northumberland leads with 18 Bolls recorded in 1881 and an index of 17.47x.

County Total Index
Northumberland 18 17.47x
Durham 11 5.34x
Middlesex 8 1.16x
Derbyshire 7 6.46x
Lanarkshire 6 2.68x
Warwickshire 5 2.86x
Renfrewshire 4 7.45x
Dorset 3 6.60x
Ayrshire 2 3.86x
Somerset 2 1.79x
Wigtownshire 2 21.76x
Midlothian 1 1.08x
Nottinghamshire 1 1.07x
Yorkshire 1 0.15x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Holywell in Northumberland leads with 7 Bolls recorded in 1881 and an index of 1320.75x.

Place Total Index
Holywell 7 1320.75x
Litchurch 7 160.55x
Sunderland 7 192.31x
Barony 6 10.59x
Aston 5 10.40x
Bethnal Green London 5 16.62x
West Hartford 5 25000.00x
East Greenock 4 78.90x
Whitley 4 1212.12x
Bromley London 3 19.70x
Poole St James 3 175.44x
Cornforth 2 327.87x
West Herrington 2 277.78x
Beith 1 64.52x
Clarborough 1 142.86x
Constable Burton 1 2000.00x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 1 2.68x
Exmoor 1 1428.57x
Kirkmaiden 1 172.41x
Maybole 1 63.29x
Morpeth 1 82.64x
Old Luce 1 172.41x
Tynemouth 1 18.12x
Yeovil 1 44.25x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Boll surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Boll surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Boll households.

FAQ

Boll surname: questions and answers

How common was the Boll surname in 1881?

In 1881, 72 people were recorded with the Boll surname. That placed it at #23,371 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Boll surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 106 in 2016. That gives Boll a modern rank of #29,927.

What does the Boll surname mean?

A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) occupational surname referring to a person who manufactured or sold round wooden bowls.

What does the Boll map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Boll bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.