| ![Show Contents]() Boak History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 Scotland Ireland The earliest roots of the name Boak are with the Viking settlers of the early Middle Ages; the surname having come from a place named by the Vikings It is a name for someone who lived in a place noted for the presence of a ridge that formed a boundary between two distinct areas. It comes from a variant of the word boak or balk, of the same meaning. While historians generally agree upon the aforementioned topographical derivation, most believe that this name actually came from the area called Boak in the parish of Kirkholm. 1 Another source claims the name is "probably a variant of boak, a northern form of balk, a ridge (as a boundary.)" (Weekley) Early Origins of the Boak familyThe surname Boak was first found in Boak in the parish of Kirkcolm, Dumfries and Galloway, part of the former county of Wigtownshire. Early entries for the family are relatively rare as we must look to the 16th century to find the first recorded entry, that of Andrew Boog who witnessed instrument of sasine in 1550. David Book was a merchant in Edinburgh, 1610 and Thomas Baok was a merchant burgess of Stirling in 1622. 1 Early History of the Boak familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Boak research. Another 321 words (23 lines of text) covering the years 1523, 1546, 1576, 1595, 1605, 1613, 1626, 1629, 1632, 1636, 1643, 1652, 1664, 1666, 1668, 1683, 1685, 1688, 1697, 1709, 1775, 1786, 1793, 1797, 1812, 1863 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Boak History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Boak Spelling VariationsStandards against which to judge the accuracy of spellings and translations did not yet exist in the Middle Ages. Spelling variations in names dating from that era, are thus, an extremely common occurrence. Boak has been recorded as Boag, Boig, Book, Boack, Boge, Bogue, Boak, Bouk, Bouck, Bogues, Bogg, Boggs and many more. Early Notables of the Boak familyNotable amongst the family at this time was John Boag (1775-1863), Scottish compiler of the ‘Imperial Lexicon,’ born at Highgate in the parish of Beith, Ayrshire, on 7 Jan. 1775. He matriculated at the university of Glasgow in 1797, and completed his academical course with a view to taking orders in the church of Scotland, but joined the body of independents or Congregationalists, who in 1812 formed themselves into the...
Another 69 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Boak Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.  Migration of the Boak family to Ireland
Some of the Boak family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
| Boak migration to the United States | + |
The New World was far from the oppressive regime of the old country. It was a place where there was more land than people and political and religious freedom were far easier to come by. Many Scots even got the chance to fight for their freedom in the American War of Independence. In recent years, interest in this heritage has been generated by Clan societies and regular highland games in North America. An examination of early immigration and passenger lists has revealed many people bearing the Boak name:
Boak Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- Letitia Boak, who arrived in New York in 1841 2
- Antony Boak, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1872
| Contemporary Notables of the name Boak (post 1700) | + |
- Chester Robert "Chet" Boak (1935-1983), American professional baseball player who appeared in ten Major League Baseball games over two seasons
- J. D. Boak, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Ohio, 1940 3
- J. Audley Boak, American politician, Dry Candidate for Delegate to Pennsylvania convention to ratify 21st amendment, 1933 3
- C. C. Boak, American Republican politician, Member of Nevada State House of Representatives, 1950 3
- John Boak (1837-1876), Scottish cricketer, a right-handed batsman bowled right-arm fast
- Travis Alexander Boak (b. 1988), Australian rules footballer for the Port Adelaide Football Club
- Robyn Boak (b. 1955), Australian gold medalist sprinter at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games
- Keith Boak, British television director, best known for his work on several popular continuing drama series
- Boak Jobbins OAM (1947-2012), Australian Anglican cleric and former Dean of Sydney
- Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
- 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)
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
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Boak migration to the United States 
