Bok History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

The story of the Bok family stretches back through time to the Viking settlers who populated the rugged shores of Scotland in the Medieval era. The Bok name comes from a place named by these Vikings and was used by a family who 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 Bok family

The surname Bok 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 Bok family

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

Bok 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. Bok has appeared as Boag, Boig, Book, Boack, Boge, Bogue, Boak, Bouk, Bouck, Bogues, Bogg, Boggs and many more.

Early Notables of the Bok 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 Bok Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Bok family to Ireland

Some of the Bok 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.

Bok 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 Bok family in North America:

Bok Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Joseph Bok, who landed in New York in 1709 2

Bok Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Mrs. De Bok, who arrived in Iowa in 1849 2
Mrs. be Bok, who landed in Iowa in 1849 2
Dingeman De Bok, who arrived in Iowa in 1849 2
Margaretha Bok, who arrived in Buffalo, NY in 1854 2
Joh Bok, who arrived in Buffalo, NY in 1854 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Bok (post 1700) +

Sissela Bok (b. 1934), Swedish-born American philosopher and ethicist, the daughter of two Nobel Prize winners
Hilary Bok (b. 1959), Henry R. Luce Professor of Bioethics and Moral & Political Theory at the Johns Hopkins University
Edward William Bok (1863-1930), Dutch-American editor and Pulitzer Prize-winning author
Derek Curtis Bok (b. 1930), American lawyer and educator, and the former president of Harvard University
Bart Jan Bok (1906-1983), Dutch-American astronomer

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)
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)