Boyd History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland
Ireland

Etymology of Boyd

What does the name Boyd mean?

The illustrious surname Boyd is classified as a habitation surname, which was originally derived from a place-name, and is one form of surname belonging to a broader group called hereditary surnames. Habitation names were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Topographic names, form the other broad category of surnames that was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree.

Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. As a general rule, the greater the distance between an individual and their homeland, the larger the territory they were named after. For example, a person who only moved to another parish would be known by the name of their original village, while people who migrated to a different country were often known by the name of a region or country from which they came. Boyd is a place-name from in England from early times. But the name arrived from Brittany about the time of the Norman Conquest. As the story goes, Alan, Baron of Oswestry arrived from Dol in Brittany with his three sons, William, Walter, and Simon. Walter, Simon and Simon's son Robert Buidhe moved north to Scotland. It is thought that the as the son's hair was blond his name was so coined. In fact, the Gaelic word buidhe, means yellow.

Early Origins of the Boyd family

The surname Boyd was first found in Shropshire where Alan, Baron of Oswestry (c. 1078- c. 1114) arrived from Dol in Brittany with his three sons, William, Walter, and Simon. Walter moved north to Scotland and became scion of the first Royal Stewart house of Scotland. Simon followed and his son being blond was named Robert Buidhe which was eventually to become Boyd. The Stewarts granted their cousins, the Boyds, extensive lands in Scotland.

Early History of the Boyd family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Boyd research. Another 224 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1263, 1306, 1460, 1467, 1549, 1550, 1580, 1646, 1661, 1692, 1704, 1746, 1890, 1903, 1912 and 1991 are included under the topic Early Boyd History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Boyd Spelling Variations

Since the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules, Breton surnames have many spelling variations. Latin and French, which were the official court languages, were also influential on the spelling of surnames. The spelling of surnames was rarely consistent in medieval times, and scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules. Therefore, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings of their surname in the ancient chronicles. Moreover, a large number of foreign names were brought into England after the Norman Conquest, which accelerated and accentuated the alterations to the spelling of various surnames. The name has been spelled Boyd, Boyde, Boid, Boyt, McElwee and others.

Early Notables of the Boyd family

More information is included under the topic Early Boyd Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Boyd World Ranking

In the United States, the name Boyd is the 134^th most popular surname with an estimated 169,116 people with that name. 1 However, in Canada, the name Boyd is ranked the 310^th most popular surname with an estimated 14,175 people with that name. 2 And in Newfoundland, Canada, the name Boyd is the 542^nd popular surname with an estimated 85 people with that name. 3 Australia ranks Boyd as 192^nd with 16,692 people. 4 New Zealand ranks Boyd as 128^th with 3,592 people. 5 The United Kingdom ranks Boyd as 314^th with 19,398 people. 6

Migration of the Boyd family to Ireland

Some of the Boyd family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 93 words (7 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Boyd migration to the United States +

Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Boyd, or a variant listed above:

Boyd Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Alexander Boyd, who arrived in Maryland in 1674 7

Boyd Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Martha Boyd, who landed in Massachusetts in 1712 7
Jean Boyd, who landed in Louisiana in 1718-1724 7
Adam Boyd, who arrived in New England in 1723 7
Archibald Boyd, who arrived in New England in 1742 7
Dougal Boyd, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1746 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Boyd Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

James Boyd, aged 26, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1804 7
Margaret Boyd, who arrived in America in 1804 7
Samuel Boyd, who landed in America in 1804 7
William Boyd, who arrived in America in 1804 7
Charles, Boyd Sr., who landed in South Carolina in 1806 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Boyd migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Boyd Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Peter Boyd who settled in Conception Bay, Newfoundland in 1706 8
Peter Boyd, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1749
James Boyd, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750

Boyd Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

John Boyd, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1801
John Boyd, aged 7, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1801
Mary Boyd, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1801
Mary Boyd, aged 4, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1801
Alex Boyd, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1801
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Boyd migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Boyd Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. James Boyd, (b. 1804), aged 15, Scottish carpenter who was convicted in Glasgow, Scotland for life, transported aboard the "Canada" on 23rd April 1819, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1831 9
Mr. John Boyd, (b. 1806), aged 21, Irish house servant who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for 7 years for house robbery, transported aboard the “Countess of Harcourt“ on 14th February 1827, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 10
Robert Boyd, a stone-mason, who arrived in Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) sometime between 1825 and 1832
Robert Boyd, a brewer, who arrived in Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) sometime between 1825 and 1832
Mr. John Boyd, (b. 1806), aged 21, Irish house servant who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for 7 years for house robbery, transported aboard the "Countess of Harcourt" on 28th June 1827, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 11
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Boyd migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Boyd Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

William Boyd, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840
Mr. Boyd, Australian settler travelling from Port Phillip Bay, Victoria aboard the ship "Earl Stanhope" arriving in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840 12
Mrs. Boyd, Australian settler travelling from Port Phillip Bay, Victoria aboard the ship "Earl Stanhope" arriving in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840 12
Mr. William Boyd, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Katherine Stewart Forbes" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 9th March 1852 12
Alexander Boyd, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Wyvern" in 1856
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Boyd (post 1700) +

James Emory Boyd (1906-1998), American physicist, mathematician, and academic administrator, Director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute from 1957 to 1961, President of West Georgia College (now the University of West Georgia) from 1961 to 1971, and acting President of the Georgia Institute of Technology from 1971 to 1972
Willard Lee Boyd (1927-2022), American legal scholar, academic administrator and President of The University of Iowa and Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois
Barbara Boyd (1942-2022), American politician, Member of the Ohio House of Representatives (2007-2014) and (1993-2000)
Charles Graham "Chuck" Boyd (1938-2022), American four-star general of the United States Air Force, a highly decorated combat pilot who served in Vietnam and is the only Vietnam War prisoner of war (1966–1973) to reach the four-star rank (1992)
Valerie Boyd (1963-2022), American writer and academic from Atlanta, Georgia, best known for her biography of Zora Neale Hurston Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston
Richard Newell Boyd (1942-2021), American philosopher at Cornell University from Washington, D.C
William Beaty Boyd (1923-2020), American academic administrator and professor, President of the University of Oregon (1975-1980)
Alan Stephenson Boyd (1922-2020), American attorney and transportation executive, 1st United States Secretary of Transportation (1967-1969)
William Clouser Boyd (1903-1983), American immunochemist who with his wife Lyle, made a worldwide survey of the distribution of blood types in the 1930s
Neal Evans Boyd (1975-2018), American pop opera singer, best known as being the winner of the third season of America's Got Talent; he died at the age of 42 from liver disease
... (Another 163 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Boyd family +

Empress of Ireland

Mr. Edward Boyd (d. 1914), British Fireman from United Kingdom who worked aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 13

Halifax Explosion

Mr. Reginald M. Boyd (1875-1917), Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who survived the Halifax Explosion (1917) but later died due to injuries 14

HMAS Sydney II

Mr. David William Boyd (1917-1941), Australian Acting Leading Sick Berth Attendant from Sale, Victoria, Australia, who sailed into battle aboard HMAS Sydney II and died in the sinking 15

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. David Wilson Boyd (1920-1942), Irish Marine from Ireland, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales and survived the sinking, was listed as missing and presumed killed during the evacuation of Singapore 1942 16

HMS Repulse

Mr. John Montgomery Boyd, British Ordinary Seaman, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and died in the sinking 17

HMS Royal Oak

Thomas Alexander Boyd (d. 1939), British Supply Assistant with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking 18

RMS Lusitania

Miss Margaret L. Boyd, Canadian 2nd Class passenger from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and died in the sinking 19
Mr. Fullerton Rimmer Boyd, English Boots Steward from Waterloo, Lancashire, England, who worked aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and survived the sinking 20

RMS Titanic

Mr. John Boyd (d. 1912), aged 35, English Saloon Steward from Southampton, Hampshire who worked aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking 21

USS Arizona

Mr. Charles Andrew Boyd, American Carpenter's Mate Third Class from Alabama, USA working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking 22

USS Indianapolis

Troy Howard Boyd (1917-1945), American crew member on board the ship "USS Indianapolis" when she was on a top secret trip for the first nuclear weapon, she was sunk by Japanese Navy on 30th July 1945, he was one of the many who were killed in the sinking due to exposure, dehydration, saltwater poisoning and shark attacks 23

The Boyd Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Confido
Motto Translation: I confide.

Sources +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
"Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
"Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/canada
Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 19th April 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/countess-of-harcourt
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 19th April 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/countess-of-harcourt
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014. (Retrieved 2014, June 17) . Retrieved from http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/listepsc1.html
Halifax Explosion Book of Remembrance | Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. (Retrieved 2014, June 23) . Retrieved from https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/halifax-explosion-book-remembrance
HMAS Sydney II, Finding Sydney Foundation - Roll of Honour. (Retrieved 2014, April 24) . Retrieved from http://www.findingsydney.com/roll.asp
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html
Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 7) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 6) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/
Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html
Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html
Final Crew List, retrieved 2021, October 30th Retrieved from https://www.ussindianapolis.com/final-crew