Show ContentsBoardman History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Boardman is rooted in the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. It is a name for someone who worked as a person who worked with timber, cutting it into boards. According to some experts the name may also refer to someone who was a border or cottager or a tenant in bondage to a lord, having derived Latinized form bondmannus. [1]

Early Origins of the Boardman family

The surname Boardman was first found in Lancashire, where they held a family seat from ancient times, long before the Norman Conquest in 1066.

Early History of the Boardman family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Boardman research. Another 109 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1550, 1568, 1571, 1572, 1575, 1582, 1588, 1594, 1618, 1619, 1622, 1639, 1755, 1764, 1796 and 1799 are included under the topic Early Boardman History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Boardman Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, early Anglo-Saxon surnames like Boardman are characterized by many spelling variations. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages, even literate people changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Boardman include: Boardman, Bordman and others.

Early Notables of the Boardman family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

  • Andrew Boardman, Bordman, Bourdman or Bourman (1550?-1639), an English divine and native of Lancashire, where he was born about 1550...

Boardman Ranking

In the United States, the name Boardman is the 5,351st most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. [2]


United States Boardman migration to the United States +

Many English families tired of political and religious strife left Britain for the new colonies in North America. Although the trip itself offered no relief - conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and many travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute - these immigrants believed the opportunities that awaited them were worth the risks. Once in the colonies, many of the families did indeed prosper and, in turn, made significant contributions to the culture and economies of the growing colonies. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Boardman or a variant listed above:

Boardman Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Osgrand Boardman who settled in Virginia in 1625
  • Andrew Boardman, who settled in Cambridge in 1630
  • William Boardman who settled in Cambridge Massachusetts in 1635
  • Samuel Boardman, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1638 [3]
  • Osmond Boardman, who landed in Virginia in 1645 [3]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Boardman Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Jacob Boardman, who arrived in New England in 1715 [3]
Boardman Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Henry Boardman, who arrived in Baltimore, Maryland in 1829 [3]
  • Godfried Boardman, who landed in Maryland in 1840 [3]
  • John Boardman, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1844 [3]
  • William Boardman, who arrived in Ohio in 1844 [3]
  • W W Boardman, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 [3]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Australia Boardman migration to Australia +

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

Boardman Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Miss Elizabeth Boardman, (Boadman), (b. 1773), aged 27, British Convict who was convicted in Chester, Cheshire, England for 7 years for shop lifting, transported aboard the "Earl Cornwallis" in August 1800, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, she died in 1829 [4]
  • Mr. James Boardman who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Bengal Merchant" on 4th August 1836, arriving in New South Wales, Australia [5]
  • Mr. James Boardman, British convict who was convicted in Liverpool, Merseyside, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Cornwall" on 28th February 1851, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) [6]
  • Caroline Boardman, aged 25, a servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Telegraph"
  • Rachel Boardman, aged 19, a servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Telegraph"
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

New Zealand Boardman 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:

Boardman Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mary Boardman, aged 17, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bebington" in 1876

Contemporary Notables of the name Boardman (post 1700) +

  • Joseph H. Boardman (1948-2019), American President of Amtrak, Administrator of the United States Federal Railroad Administration
  • William Whiting Boardman (1794-1871), American politician, Member of Connecticut State Senate 4th District, 1830-32; Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from New Haven, 1836-39, 1845, 1849-51 [7]
  • William Knight Boardman (b. 1915), American Republican politician, Member of Alaska territorial House of Representatives 1st District, 1953-54; Member of Alaska State House of Representatives, 1961-70; Speaker of the Alaska State House of Representatives, 1967-68 [7]
  • William B. Boardman, American politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Marlborough, 1827 [7]
  • William Boardman, American politician, Candidate for New York State Assembly from Kings County 1st District, 1902; Republican Candidate for New York State Senate 3rd District, 1908; Delegate to Republican National Convention from New York, 1916 (alternate), 1920 [7]
  • William A. Boardman, American politician, Village President of Waukegan, Illinois, 1851 [7]
  • W. H. Boardman, American Republican politician, Mayor of Calais, Maine, 1878-82 [7]
  • Truman Boardman, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Tompkins County, 1881 [7]
  • Truman Boardman, American politician, Member of New York State Senate 26th District, 1858-59 [7]
  • P. C. Boardman, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Vermont, 1936 [7]
  • ... (Another 60 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Empress of Ireland
  • Mr. Charles Boardman (1881-1914), Canadian Third Class Passenger from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada who was traveling aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking [8]
  • Mrs. Catherine Ellen Boardman (1886-1914), Canadian Third Class Passenger from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada who was traveling aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking [8]
HMS Hood
  • Mr. Stanley Boardman (b. 1919), English Petty Officer serving for the Royal Navy from Manchester, Lancashire, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking [9]
St. Francis Dam
  • Mrs. Grace Boardman, (nee Rice), American resident in Santa Clarita killed when the St. Francis Dam failed and flooded the area in 1928
  • Miss Florence Ellouse Boardman, American resident in Santa Clarita killed when the St. Francis Dam failed and flooded the area in 1928
  • Mr. G. P. Boardman, American resident in Santa Clarita who survived when the St. Francis Dam failed and flooded the area in 1928
  • Mr. Boardman, American resident in Santa Clarita who survived when the St. Francis Dam failed and flooded the area in 1928


Suggested Readings for the name Boardman +

  • Boardman Genealogy, 1525-1895 by Charlotte Goldthwaite.

  1. Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
  2. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  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)
  4. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 13th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-cornwallis
  5. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bengal-merchant
  6. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 11th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/cornwall
  7. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, April 22) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  8. Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014. (Retrieved 2014, June 16) . Retrieved from http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/listepsc1.html
  9. H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm


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