Contents [hide]

Boys History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Ireland United States Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Boys History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland
Ireland

The name Boys was originally derived from the Old French "bois," which meant "wood." The name was no doubt originally used in France by someone living or working in the woods. 1

Early Origins of the Boys family

The surname Boys was first found in Essex where William de Bois was listed as holdings land there at the time of the Domesday Book in 1086.

However, due to the literal translation of the name into English, we cannot presume that there is one main branch from which all others have evolved. By example, "De Bois-Arnaud, hereditary stewards of the counts of Breteuil, sires of Poilly," signatures appeared in the charter of William Fitz-Osborne to the Lire Abbey during the reign of William I. 2

De Bois-Herbert who were barons of Halberton, Devon were listed there in 1050. Apparently they flourished in Dorset, but the Devon record was a branch of the family at that time.

A little further to the north in Buckinghamshire, De Bois-Robert from whom Robert de Bois descended held estates there in 1086. 2

Another source notes that some of the family were Protestant Huguenots who fled to England from Brittany settling in Thorney, Canterbury, Norwich and London. 1

Early History of the Boys family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Boys research. Another 148 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1279, 1296, 1327, 1388, 1396, 1447, 1533, 1541, 1560, 1571, 1589, 1596, 1599, 1607, 1612, 1619, 1625, 1643, 1644, 1645, 1656, 1663, 1664, 1667, 1678, 1710, 1718, 1736 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Boys History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Boys Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Bois, De Bois, Dubois, Boyes, Boys, Boyse, Boice and many more.

Early Notables of the Boys family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

John Boys (fl.1388), Member of Parliament for Plympton Erle, John Boys (died 1447), Member of Parliament for Middlesex
John Boys (died 1533), Member of Parliament for Sandwich
John Boys (1571-1625), Dean of Canterbury from 1619 to 1625
William Boys (1541-1596), an English politician, Member of the Parliament of England for Queenborough in 1589
John Boys (1607-1664), Royalist captain, Governor of Donnington Castle in Berkshire during the English Civil War
John Boys (c.1607-1678), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1645 and 1656
John Bois (sometimes spelled Boys) (1560-1643), an English scholar, Deacon of the Church of England, best remembered as one of the members of the committee for the Authorized Version of the Bible

Migration of the Boys family to Ireland

Some of the Boys family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 60 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Boys migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Boys Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Cheney Boys, who landed in Virginia in 1618 3
Mrs. Boys, who landed in Virginia in 1623 3
Luke Boys, who arrived in Virginia in 1623 3
John Boys, who landed in Virginia in 1649 3
Cornelius Boys, who arrived in Maryland in 1666-1750 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Boys Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

William Boys, who arrived in Virginia in 1705 3
Anne Boys, who arrived in Virginia in 1723 3

Boys Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Boys, who arrived in New York in 1822 3
I William Boys, aged 41, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1851 3

Boys migration to Australia +

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

Boys Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss Ann Boys, Scottish Convict who was convicted in Glasgow, Scotland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Atwick" on 28 September 1837, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 4
James Boys, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Caroline Agnes" in 1850 5

Boys 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:

Boys Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

J C Boys, who landed in Nelson, New Zealand in 1842
Mr. James Boys, British settler travelling from London via Plymouth aboard the ship "Tasmania" arriving in Otago, South Island, New Zealand on to Lyttelton on 26th February 1853 6
Mr. Robert Boys, British settler travelling from London via Plymouth aboard the ship "Tasmania" arriving in Otago, South Island, New Zealand on to Lyttelton on 26th February 1853 6
H. Boys, who arrived in Lyttelton, New Zealand aboard the ship "Balaklava" in 1864

Contemporary Notables of the name Boys (post 1700) +

Commodore William Boys (1700-1774), English Royal Navy officer, Commander-in-Chief, The Nore, who at the age of 24 was one of only five men who survived the sinking of the Luxborough Galley in 1727; the ghoulish details of cannibalism were published in the Boston Globe
William Boys (1735-1803), English surgeon and topographer, son of Commodore William Boys
Thomas Shotter Boys (1803-1874), English watercolour painter and lithographer
Thomas Boys (1792-1880), English theologian and antiquary
Samuel Francis "Frank" Boys FRS (1911-1972), English theoretical chemist, elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1972
Edward James "E.J." Boys (1916-2002), English authority on the famous Charge of the Light Brigade of 1854 during the Crimean War of 1854-56
John Boys (1749-1824), English agriculturist, father of Edward Boys
Edward Boys (1785-1866), English sea captain who was captured by the French then escaped to the West Indies where he wrote his family an account of his adventures in France which was later published
Sir Charles Vernon Boys (1855-1944), English physicist, awarded the Royal Medal (1896), Duddell Medal and Prize (1924), Rumford Medal (1924) and the Elliott Cresson Medal (1939)
Sir Michael Hardie Boys GNZM, GCMG, QSO, KStJ, PC (1931-2023), New Zealand lawyer, judge and jurist, 17th Governor-General of New Zealand (1996 to 2001)
... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
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)
Convict Records of Australia. Retreived 23rd August 2020 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/atwick
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) CAROLINE AGNES 1850. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1850CarolineAgnes-Hydaspe%20RegisterOct15.gif
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html