Bouley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

The Bouley surname is generally thought to derived from the Old French word "boul", denoting a type of birch tree. As a name it was likely first used by someone living near such trees, or perhaps from a place with a name derived from the tree name. It has also been suggested that some instances of the Bouley name find their roots in the French word "boule," which means "ball." In this case the name was likely originally a nickname for someone of a rotund shape. La Boulaye is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne in eastern France. Fort De La Boulaye, also known as Mississippi Fort, was a fort built by the French in 1700, to take control over the Mississippi. Native Americans forced the French to vacate the fort by 1707.

Early Origins of the Bouley family

The surname Bouley was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where the family first originated, maintaining their status as one of the more distinguished families of the region. Simon Boulet, squire and Lord of Crahan, first registered the family coat of arms in Bayeux in 1696. The family prospered and branched out into other regions in France such as Poitou, Aunis, and Saintonge. 1

Robert Boulet, born in 1630, married Françoise Grenier, born in 1634, in France in 1657. Robert and Françoise, along with their daughter, Jacqueline, travelled from La Rochelle, France to Quebec, Canada in 1662. They remained together in Quebec until Robert's death on 24th March 1707. Françoise passed away two years later on 29th January 1709. 2

Early History of the Bouley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bouley research. Another 72 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1642, 1669, 1672, 1678, 1728, 1732, 1761, 1773, 1799, 1840, 1861 and 1942 are included under the topic Early Bouley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bouley Spelling Variations

There were a great number of spelling variations in French surnames. One reason for this was the wide variety of cultural influences present in France during the early development of the French language. The many spelling variations of the name include Boulet, du Boulet, Boulez, Boullet, Boullée, Bouley, Boulay, Boullay, Bouletot, Boulot, Boullot, Boulais, Bouloy, Bouloi, Boulois, Duboulay, Dubouloy, Boul, Boule, Boulle, Boulles, Bouleau, Boulleau and many more.

Early Notables of the Bouley family

Notable amongst the family in this period was César-Egasse du Boulay (died 1678), known as Bulaeus, a French historian; André Charles Boulle (1642-1732), French cabinetmaker who became one of the most important suppliers...
Another 32 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bouley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bouley Ranking

In the United States, the name Bouley is the 13,847^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3 However, in France, the name Bouley is ranked the 7,089^th most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 4

Migration of the Bouley family

Immigration to New France was slow; therefore, early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. The fur trade attracted migrants, both noble and commoner. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported to Louisiana. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The distinguished family name Bouley has made significant contributions to the culture, arts, sciences and religion of France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Bouley were Bridgett Boulle, age 32, who arrived in Charlestown, Massachusetts in 1637; James Boullay, who arrived in Maryland in 1680; Germain Boulle, age 35, who arrived in Louisiana in 1719.

Contemporary Notables of the name Bouley (post 1700) +

David Bouley (1953-2024), American and French chef
Richard Bouley, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New Hampshire, 1980 5
Jessie Bouley, American Libertarian politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Texas 20th District, 2004 5
Beth Bouley, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from North Dakota, 2008 5
Arthur Bouley, American politician, Delegate to New Hampshire State Constitutional Convention from Nashua 8th Ward, 1956 5
Major-General Jean-Claude-Louis-Victor Bouley (1897-1983), French Military-Governor of Rhine-Palatinate 6

Citations +

Hozier, Charles D, and Antoine Bachelin-Delforenne. État présent De La Noblesse française (1883-1887): Contenant Le Distionnaire De La Noblesse Contemporaine Et Larmorial général De France, Dapres Les Manuscrits De Ch. D Hozier. Librairie Des Bibliophiles, 1884. Print.
Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 29) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, October 3) Jean-Claude-Louis-Victor Bouley. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Bouley/Jean-Claude-Louis-Victor/France.html