NameCensus.

UK surname

Boss

An occupational surname referring to an employer, supervisor, or a person in charge.

In the 1881 census there were 389 people recorded with the Boss surname, ranking it #8,122 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 666, ranked #8,017, up from #8,122 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, St Pancras and Church Gresley. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Cherwell, Manchester and Gateshead.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Boss is 666 in 2016. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 71.2%.

1881 census count

389

Ranked #8,122

Modern count

666

2016, ranked #8,017

Peak year

2016

666 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Boss had 389 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #8,122 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 666 in 2016, ranked #8,017.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 578 in 1861.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Ethnically Diverse Families in Less Connected Locations.

Boss surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Boss surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Boss 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 383 #6,247
1861 historical 578 #4,564
1881 historical 389 #8,122
1891 historical 530 #7,073
1901 historical 531 #7,717
1911 historical 500 #7,831
1997 modern 484 #9,531
1998 modern 504 #9,531
1999 modern 522 #9,348
2000 modern 530 #9,211
2001 modern 507 #9,364
2002 modern 490 #9,771
2003 modern 474 #9,865
2004 modern 492 #9,616
2005 modern 479 #9,737
2006 modern 516 #9,258
2007 modern 517 #9,331
2008 modern 532 #9,195
2009 modern 546 #9,230
2010 modern 550 #9,368
2011 modern 543 #9,373
2012 modern 550 #9,167
2013 modern 581 #8,945
2014 modern 606 #8,743
2015 modern 622 #8,481
2016 modern 666 #8,017

Geography

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Where Boss' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, St Pancras, Church Gresley and Banbury. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Cherwell, Manchester and Gateshead. 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 London parishes London 1
2 London parishes London 3
3 St Pancras London (North Districts)
4 Church Gresley Staffordshire
5 Banbury Oxfordshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Cherwell 010 Cherwell
2 Cherwell 004 Cherwell
3 Manchester 020 Manchester
4 Manchester 023 Manchester
5 Gateshead 010 Gateshead

Forenames

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First names often paired with Boss

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Boss

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Boss, 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

Low-Skilled Migrant and Student Communities

Group

Ethnically Diverse Families in Less Connected Locations

Nationally, the Boss surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Ethnically Diverse Families in Less Connected Locations, within Low-Skilled Migrant and Student Communities. This does not mean every Boss 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 often found in less central parts of London and other major towns and cities. Adults are more likely than the Supergroup average to have never been married and are typically aged less than 45 years. Many have young dependent children and individuals may have been born in Africa. There are many members identifying with a Black ethnic group, with the other ethnic groups (as listed in the glossary) also represented, though Chinese less so. Accommodation in flats, frequently socially rented, is common in these neighbourhoods. Part time employment is also common, and work is often in elementary occupations, while unemployment is also the highest within this Supergroup.

Wider pattern

Young adults, many of whom are students, predominate in these high-density and overcrowded neighbourhoods of rented terrace houses or flats. Most ethnic minorities are present in these communities, as are people born in European countries that are not part of the EU. Students aside, low skilled occupations predominate, and unemployment rates are above average. Overall, the mix of students and more sedentary households means that neighbourhood average numbers of children are not very high. The Mixed or Multiple ethnic group composition of neighbourhoods is often associated with low rates of affiliation to Christian religions. This Supergroup predominates in non-central urban locations the UK, particularly within England in the Midlands and the outskirts of west, south and north-east London.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins

Within London, Boss is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins, part of Young Families and Mainstream Employment. 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

Scattered across London’s Inner and Outer suburbs, residents of these neighbourhoods are typically housed in the social rented sector. Although terraced and semi-detached houses predominate, more residents live in flats than elsewhere in the Supergroup. Neighbourhoods are more ethnically diverse than the Supergroup average. Those identifying as of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and some Black ethnicities are more prevalent. Europeans born in a overseas non-EU countries make up more of the lower proportion of residents identifying as White. Few residents are very old (85+). Employment in distribution, hotels and restaurants is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

Many families in these neighbourhoods have young children. Housing is principally in the social rented sector, in terraced or semi-detached units. While over-all residential densities are low, overcrowding is also prevalent locally. Residents are drawn from a range of ethnic minorities, with many identifying as Black and above average numbers born in Africa. Numbers identifying as of Chinese, Indian or White ethnicity are below average. Levels of proficiency in English are below average. Levels of separation or divorce and incidence of disability are both above average. Education is typically limited to Level 1, 2, or apprenticeship qualifications. Few residents work in professional or managerial occupations but the employment structure is otherwise diverse: it includes skilled trades, caring, leisure and other service occupations, sales and customer service occupations, construction, and work as process, plant, and machine operatives.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Boss is most concentrated in decile 10 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.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Boss falls in decile 9 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

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

9
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Boss 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 Boss, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Boss

The surname BOSS is believed to have originated in England and Scotland. It is likely derived from the Old English word 'boce' or 'boc', which referred to a badger or a wooded area inhabited by badgers. The name may have initially been a descriptive nickname or an occupational name for someone who lived near or worked in a wooded area.

The earliest known record of the surname BOSS can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire, which dates back to 1273. The entry mentions a person named 'Robert le Boche', which is an early spelling variation of the name.

In Scotland, the name BOSS is thought to have originated from the place name 'Bossenden' or 'Bosenden' in Kent, England. This place name is derived from the Old English words 'boc' (badger) and 'denu' (valley), suggesting that the name may have referred to someone who lived in the "valley of the badgers".

During the Middle Ages, the surname BOSS appeared in various records and manuscripts. For instance, the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1379 mention a person named 'William Bosse'. Similarly, the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex from 1524 include the name 'Thomas Bouse'.

Notable individuals with the surname BOSS throughout history include:

1. William Boss (c. 1561-1590), an English translator and author who published works on navigation and astronomy. 2. Abraham Boss (1637-1681), a Dutch painter known for his still-life and genre paintings. 3. Lewis Boss (1846-1912), an American astronomer and the fourth director of the Dudley Observatory in New York. 4. Benjamin Boss (1880-1970), an American chess master and one of the strongest players in the United States during the early 20th century. 5. Edgar Boss (1888-1968), a Swiss philosopher and existential psychologist known for his contributions to the field of phenomenology and existential analysis.

The surname BOSS has also been associated with various place names, such as Bossiney in Cornwall, England, and Bossall in North Yorkshire, England. These place names likely share the same etymological roots as the surname, reflecting the connection between the name and wooded or badger-inhabited areas.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Boss families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Boss 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. Middlesex leads with 75 Boss' recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.02x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 75 2.02x
Lancashire 51 1.16x
Staffordshire 23 1.84x
Leicestershire 22 5.35x
Surrey 22 1.22x
Cheshire 16 1.96x
Derbyshire 14 2.41x
Oxfordshire 14 6.12x
Stirlingshire 14 10.24x
Lincolnshire 13 2.19x
Yorkshire 13 0.35x
Hampshire 12 1.58x
Warwickshire 8 0.86x
West Lothian 8 14.33x
Lanarkshire 7 0.58x
Rutland 7 25.72x
Cornwall 6 1.43x
Monmouthshire 6 2.24x
Northumberland 6 1.09x
Devon 5 0.65x
Essex 5 0.68x
Perthshire 5 3.01x
Clackmannanshire 4 13.07x
Kent 4 0.32x
Midlothian 4 0.81x
Nottinghamshire 3 0.60x
Aberdeenshire 1 0.29x
Angus 1 0.29x
Argyllshire 1 0.97x
Ayrshire 1 0.36x
Berkshire 1 0.36x
Dorset 1 0.41x
Hertfordshire 1 0.39x
Northamptonshire 1 0.29x
Royal Navy 1 2.26x
Somerset 1 0.17x
Suffolk 1 0.22x
Sussex 1 0.16x
Worcestershire 1 0.21x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Wuerdle Wardle in Lancashire leads with 18 Boss' recorded in 1881 and an index of 134.83x.

Place Total Index
Wuerdle Wardle 18 134.83x
St George In East London 14 40.16x
Mile End Old Town London 12 15.21x
Neithrop 12 156.05x
Altrincham 11 76.92x
Appleby 10 1041.67x
Portsea 10 6.72x
Ashby De La Zouch 9 94.44x
Church Gresley 9 97.51x
St George Bloomsbury 9 42.31x
Abercorn 8 720.72x
St Ninians 8 59.04x
Bethnal Green London 7 4.35x
Hackney London 7 3.37x
Liverpool 7 2.62x
Wigtoft 7 813.95x
Banstead 6 122.70x
Branstone 6 476.19x
Burton Upon Trent 6 20.50x
Coxlodge 6 143.20x
Larbert 6 73.44x
Oakham Lordshold 6 210.53x
Old Monkland 6 12.61x
Oldham 6 4.23x
St Pancras London 6 2.01x
St Woollos 6 20.07x
Birkenhead 5 7.67x
Blackford 5 246.31x
Chiswick 5 24.69x
Harborne 5 12.47x
Horton In Bradford 5 8.72x
Kensington London 5 2.43x
St Just In Penwith 5 61.43x
Stoke Upon Trent 5 3.77x
Duddingston 4 40.12x
Aston 3 1.17x
Atherstone 3 62.89x
Bow London 3 6.36x
Camberwell 3 1.27x
Farnworth 3 11.39x
Islington London 3 0.84x
Manchester 3 1.52x
Measham 3 140.85x
Moss Side 3 12.96x
Newington 3 2.19x
Newton 3 8.85x
Nottingham St Mary 3 2.32x
Stoke Damerel 3 5.56x
York St Martin Mklgt W 3 361.45x
Alloa 2 13.48x
Brightside Bierlow 2 2.78x
Croydon 2 1.99x
Dollar 2 63.09x
Garston 2 15.41x
Gillingham 2 7.67x
Great Grimsby 2 5.32x
Kirkdale 2 2.70x
Leyton Low 2 13.45x
Loughborough 2 10.72x
Rotherhithe 2 4.37x
West Ham 2 1.24x
Wigan 2 3.25x
Aberdeen St Nicholas 1 1.56x
Banbury 1 21.83x
Chelsea London 1 0.90x
Clapham 1 2.16x
Devonport 1 11.27x
Dreghorn 1 19.92x
Hitchin 1 8.67x
Lee 1 5.45x
Liff Benvie 1 1.92x
Melcombe Regis 1 9.92x
Paddington London 1 0.73x
Poplar London 1 1.43x
St George Hanover Square 1 1.53x
Stamford St Mary 1 83.33x
Streatham 1 3.64x
Uppingham 1 30.86x
Walkington 1 80.65x
Warkworth 1 31.85x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 18
Elizabeth 12
Ann 9
Annie 9
Jane 8
Sarah 8
Catherine 6
Ada 5
Louisa 5
Alice 4
Eliza 4
Emily 4
Emma 4
Amelia 3
Edith 3
Eleanor 3
Florence 3
Kate 3
Susannah 3
Agnes 2
Caroline 2
Charlotte 2
Esther 2
Harriet 2
Harriett 2
Julia 2
Margaret 2
Maria 2
Ophelia 2
Rose 2
Susan 2
Bessy 1
Cecil 1
Christina 1
Drucilla 1
Ellen 1
Elleonora 1
Emmia 1
Ester 1
Famie 1
Jeannett 1
Jessie 1
Lawson 1
Leah 1
Lena 1
Lillie 1
Lois 1
Louise 1
Lucy 1
Zillah 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 16
John 15
Thomas 15
George 8
Edward 7
Charles 5
Frederick 5
James 5
Alfred 4
Henry 4
Joseph 4
Samuel 4
Walter 4
Albert 2
Arthur 2
Edwd. 2
Harry 2
Jas. 2
Louis 2
Michael 2
Solomon 2
Wm. 2
Andrew 1
Andw.J. 1
D. 1
Eli 1
Elijah 1
Enoch 1
Francis 1
Fredrick 1
Friederick 1
Gustivus 1
J.W. 1
Jacob 1
Jno. 1
Josep 1
Julias 1
Marcus 1
Mark 1
Nelson 1
Neudert 1
Noah 1
Oliver 1
Phillip 1
R. 1
Richard 1
Sampson 1
Simon 1
Stephen 1
Zub. 1

FAQ

Boss surname: questions and answers

How common was the Boss surname in 1881?

In 1881, 389 people were recorded with the Boss surname. That placed it at #8,122 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Boss surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 666 in 2016. That gives Boss a modern rank of #8,017.

What does the Boss surname mean?

An occupational surname referring to an employer, supervisor, or a person in charge.

What does the Boss map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Boss 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.