# Boylan (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/boylan/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Irish.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Irish |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 6,280 |
| US rank (2010) | 5,533 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 49,163 people |
| Change since 2000 | -0.4% (6,306 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Baoighealláin (“descendant of Baoigheallán”), a diminutive of Baoigheall, a personal name composed of the elements baoth (“vain, foolish”) + geall (“pledge, token”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Boylan in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 93% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 2.2% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.3% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.8% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.2% |
| Two or more races | 1.4% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Boylan in the United States.

## People named Boylan

- Jennifer Finney Boylan, American author
- John J. Boylan, American politician (1878–1938)
- Eileen April Boylan, American actress
- Jim Boylan, American basketball player and coach

## Similar surnames

Bolin, Bolen, Bowlin, Blain, Bolan, Bohlen, Balan, Bollin, Boleyn, Bloom, Blum, Bellamy.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.