Contents [hide]

Boylan History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Boylan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

The original Gaelic form of Boylan was Ó Baoighealláin. 1

Early Origins of the Boylan family

The surname Boylan was first found in Fermanagh (Irish: Fear Manach) in the southwestern part of Northern Ireland, Province of Ulster, where they held a family seat from ancient times, and were descended from the Heremon line of Kings, more specifically King Colla da Crioch, one of the three famous Kings of Colla, 357 A.D. 2

Early History of the Boylan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Boylan research. Another 99 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Boylan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Boylan Spelling Variations

The recording of names in Ireland during the Middle Ages was an inconsistent endeavor at best. Since the general population did not know how to read or write, they could only specify how their names should be recorded orally. Research into the name Boylan revealed spelling variations, including Boylan, Boyland, O'Boylan and others.

Early Notables of the Boylan family

Prominent amongst the family at this time was

Monseignor Patrick Boylan, a distinguished Hebrew scholar

Boylan Ranking

In the United States, the name Boylan is the 5,417^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 3

Boylan migration to the United States +

Death and immigration greatly reduced Ireland's population in the 19th century. For the native Irish people poverty, hunger, and racial prejudice was common. Therefore, thousands left their homeland to seek opportunity in North America. Those who survived the journey and the quarantine camps to which they arrived, were instrumental towards building the strong developing nations of the United States and the future Canada. By far, the largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s. These were employed as construction or factory workers. An examination of passenger and immigration lists has shown early immigrants bearing the name Boylan:

Boylan Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Philemy Boylan, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1746 4

Boylan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Michael Boylan, aged 28, who landed in New York in 1812 4
James Boylan, who arrived in Connecticut in 1812 4
John D Boylan, who arrived in New York, NY in 1829 4
Patrick F Boylan, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1840 4
Miss Margaret Boylan, aged 15, Irish settler who arrived in New York in 1846 aboard the ship "Stephen Whitney"
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Boylan Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Arthur P. Boylan, aged 6, who immigrated to America from Armagh, in 1902
Alice Boylan, aged 57, who immigrated to the United States from Dublin, in 1904
Annie Boylan, aged 22, who landed in America from Demdalk, Ireland, in 1906
Ann Boylan, aged 30, who immigrated to America from Drogheida Ireland, in 1907
Anna Boylan, who landed in America, in 1910
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Boylan migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Boylan Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

James Boylan, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1837

Boylan migration to Australia +

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

Boylan Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Hugh Boylan, Irish convict who was convicted in Armagh, Ireland for life, transported aboard the "Boyd" on 10th March 1809, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 5
Mr. Patrick Boylan, Irish convict who was convicted in Armagh, Ireland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Boyd" on 10th March 1809, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 5
Miss Mary Boylan, (Boyle), (b. 1777), aged 36, Irish convict who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Catherine" on 8th December 1813, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. Edward Boylan, (b. 1777), aged 50, Irish farmer's man who was convicted in County Meath, Ireland for life for house robbery, transported aboard the “Countess of Harcourt“ on 14th February 1827, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1857 7
Mr. Edward Boylan, (b. 1777), aged 50, Irish farmers man who was convicted in County Meath, Ireland for life for house robbery, transported aboard the "Countess of Harcourt" on 28th June 1827, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1857 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Boylan 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:

Boylan Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

James Thomas Boylan, who landed in Auckland, New Zealand in 1840
Miss Mary Boylan, British settler travelling from London, UK aboard the ship "Bank of England" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 28th December 1855 9
Mrs. Boylan, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Kingston" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 29th December 1858 9
Mr. Henry C. Boylan, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Kingston" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 29th December 1858 9
Mr. William J. Boylan, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Kingston" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 29th December 1858 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Boylan migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 10

Boylan Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

George Boylan who settled in Barbados in 1654

Contemporary Notables of the name Boylan (post 1700) +

Peter James Boylan Jr. (1936-2023), American Major General of the United States Army
Elizabeth Boylan (1929-2020), better known by her maiden name Betsy Wade, an American journalist who became the first woman copy editor at The New York Times in 1956
Roger Boylan (b. 1951), American writer, raised in Ireland, France, and Switzerland
Barbara Boylan (b. 1942), American dancer and television personality
Jennifer Finney Boylan (b. 1958), American author, and professor at Colby College
Michael Boylan, American politician, Member of Minnesota State Senate 61st District, 1919-26 11
Leo Boylan, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Kansas, 1972 11
John P. Boylan, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1928 11
John Joseph Boylan (1878-1938), American Democratic Party politician, Member of New York State Assembly from New York County 11th District, 1910-12; Member of New York State Senate, 1913-22 11
John Boylan, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New Jersey, 1912 (alternate), 1916; Chair of Passaic County Democratic Party, 1913-14 11
... (Another 7 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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 Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 27th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/Boyd
Convict Records of Australia (Retreived 2nd January 2021, retreived from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/catherine
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
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 16) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html