Boone
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Meaning
surname from Old French 'bon', 'good', or from the town of Bohon, France
The story
Boone is an English surname with two possible homes: the Old French bon, "good," or the town of Bohon in France, and the reference books decline to pick. America hears neither; it hears the frontier. Daniel Boone, the pioneer whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States, gave the surname a permanent buckskin jacket. As a first name it idled for a century, 89 in the 1920s, then double digits through midcentury. The climb is entirely modern: 496 in the 2000s, 2,300 in the 2010s, and 3,229 already since 2020, past the full 2010s total with years still on the clock. It arrived with the wave of rugged single-syllable surnames, alongside Ford and Hayes, and whichever of its two derivations you prefer, it sounds like a campfire in person.
How popular is Boone around the world?
In the United States, 3,234 babies were named Boone between 2020 and 2025.
Boone is on the official records of the United States and Canada.
United States
1 in 6,700
In the United States, 3,234 babies were named Boone between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Boone peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 19,000
In Canada, 19 boys named Boone were born in 2024, ranked 1,232nd among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
last on record 2023
Boone is not on the 2025 record for England and Wales, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
South Australia
last on record 2007
Boone is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Boone
Most people given the name Boone in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Boone deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Boone truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Boone fits with your family’s names and surname.
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