Contents [hide]

Boggs History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Boggs History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

In the Middle Ages, the first family to use the Boggs surname took the name from a place name with Viking roots. They 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 Boggs family

The surname Boggs 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 Boggs family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Boggs 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 Boggs History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Boggs Spelling Variations

In the Middle Ages, no real standards were established to judge the accuracy of spelling and translation. They were done mostly by ear and intuition, and enormous numbers of spelling variations were the unsurprising result. Boggs has appeared as Boag, Boig, Book, Boack, Boge, Bogue, Boak, Bouk, Bouck, Bogues, Bogg, Boggs and many more.

Early Notables of the Boggs family

Notable 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 Boggs Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Boggs Ranking

In the United States, the name Boggs is the 1,020^th most popular surname with an estimated 29,844 people with that name. 2

Migration of the Boggs family to Ireland

Some of the Boggs 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.

Boggs migration to the United States +

North America was far from Britain's oppressive monarchy. There, the Scottish found land and freedom, and many even the opportunity to pay back England in the American War of Independence. This brave heritage survives today largely in Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations. Research into passenger and immigration lists has brought forth evidence of the early members of the Boggs family in North America:

Boggs Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Ephraim Boggs, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1746 3
Samuel Boggs, who landed in New England in 1753 3
Robert and Samuel Boggs, who settled in Charles Town [Charleston], South Carolina in 1766 and 1767 respectively
Thomas Boggs, who landed in South Carolina in 1772 3
William Boggs, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1799 3

Boggs Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

George Boggs, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1806 3
James Boggs, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1808 3
David Boggs, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1808 3
Paul Boggs, who landed in New York, NY in 1811 3
Alexander Boggs, who landed in New York, NY in 1816 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Boggs migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Boggs Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Dr. James Boggs U.E. (b. 1739) born in Mill Creek, Newcastle, Delaware, USA from Shrewsbury, New Jersey, USA who settled in Halifax, Nova Scotia c. 1783 he enlisted in 1777 was a Surgeon after fleeing his home working in New York General Hospital, married to Mary Morris they had 8 children, he died in 1830 in Halifax, Nova Scotia 4
Mr. John Boggs U.E. who settled in Queens County, New Brunswick c. 1783 he was a Magistrate 4

Boggs Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Jane Boggs, aged 40, a widow, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Billow" in 1833

Boggs 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:

Boggs Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Hales Boggs, aged 26, a joiner, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Arethusa" in 1879
Jane Boggs, aged 25, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Arethusa" in 1879
Harry Boggs, aged 3, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Arethusa" in 1879
Bertha Boggs, aged under 1, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Arethusa" in 1879

Contemporary Notables of the name Boggs (post 1700) +

Thomas Winton "Tommy" Boggs (1955-2022), American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher for the Texas Rangers (1976–1977, 1985) and the Atlanta Braves (1978–1983)
Rear Admiral Charles Stewart Boggs (1811-1877), United States Navy officer, eponym of the USS Boggs (DD-136), a Wickes class destroyer
Henrietta Boggs (1918-2020), American author, journalist, and activist, First Lady of Costa Rica from 1948 to 1949
Thomas Hale Boggs Jr. (b. 1940), American Democratic Party politician, Economist; Lawyer; Candidate for U.S. Representative from Maryland 8th District, 1970
Thomas Hale Boggs Sr. (1914-1972), American Democratic Party politician, U.S. Representative from Louisiana 2nd District, 1941-43, 1947-72; Died in office 1972;
Stuart C. Boggs, American Republican politician, Candidate for West Virginia State House of Delegates from Greenbrier County, 1936
Rita R. Boggs, American politician, Candidate for Mayor of Carson, California, 2004
Nolan Boggs, American Republican politician, Secretary of Ohio Republican Party, 1937
Maurice Boggs (1909-1985), American Democratic Party politician, Boilermaker; Member of West Virginia State House of Delegates from Gilmer County; Elected 1960
Lilburn Williams Boggs (1796-1860), American politician, Postmaster at Independence, Missouri, 1827-31; Lieutenant Governor of Missouri, 1832-36; Governor of Missouri, 1836-40;
... (Another 41 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

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)
"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)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X