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Bullard History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Bullard History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Netherlands
England

The ancient name of Bullard finds its origins with the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from a name for a person who worked as a bull herder or a keeper of cattle. The surname Bullard is a name for the bull-herd, and is derived from the Old English word Bulluc, which literally means bullherder. 1

Another source notes a similar origin of the name: "bull-ward-either the man who presided over the sport of bull-baiting, or the one who had the care of the 'townbull.' " 2

Early Origins of the Bullard family

The surname Bullard was first found in Wiltshire where the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed Geoffrey Bolhard as one of the first listings of the family. The same source listed Fulco Bulard as holding lands at that time in Kent. 3

In Suffolk, an earlier record of the family was found, that of Henry Buliard who was listed in the Feet of Fines for 1198. 4

One of the earliest records of the family in America was William Bullard (1594-1686), an early resident and two term Selectman in Dedham, Massachusetts. He was the eldest of four brothers who emigrated c. 1634-1635 and settled first at Watertown. All four brothers had issue. William was instrumental in the "planting of Dedham" and signed the social compact.

Early History of the Bullard family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bullard research. Another 219 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1198, 1273, 1275, 1500, 1524, 1672 and 1806 are included under the topic Early Bullard History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bullard Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Bullard family name include Bullard, Buliard, Bolhard, Bulard, Bulward and others.

Early Notables of the Bullard family

Another 33 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bullard Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bullard Ranking

In the United States, the name Bullard is the 1,362^nd most popular surname with an estimated 22,383 people with that name. 5

Bullard migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Bullard surname or a spelling variation of the name include :

Bullard Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Henry Bullard, who landed in Virginia in 1631 6
Robert Bullard who arrived in New England in 1634
Henry Bullard who sailed to Virginia in 1636
Tho Bullard, who landed in Virginia in 1637 6
John Bullard, who landed in Dedham, Massachusetts in 1640 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bullard Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Hannah Bullard, who arrived in Virginia in 1711 6
Thomas Bullard, who landed in Virginia in 1711 6

Bullard Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Mr. Bullard, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1822 6
W H Bullard, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 6
Major-General Robert Lee Bullard, who was born at Youngsboro in Alabama in 1861 and commanded the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Division of the American Expeditionary Force in France during World War I

Bullard migration to Australia +

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

Bullard Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Samuel Bullard, British Convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Earl St Vincent" on 6th April 1820, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
Miss Elizabeth Bullard who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Burrell" on 31st December 1831, arriving in New South Wales 8
Mr. William Bullard, English convict who was convicted in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Fairlie" on 14th October 1833, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
Mr. Thomas Bullard, British Convict who was convicted in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada for life, transported aboard the "Belgravia" on 4th April 1866, arriving in Western Australia 10

Bullard 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:

Bullard Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

William Bullard, aged 34, a labourer, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Prince of Wales" in 1842
Jane Bullard, aged 30, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Prince of Wales" in 1842
William E. Bullard, aged 19, a saddler, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Rodney" in 1875

Contemporary Notables of the name Bullard (post 1700) +

William H. G. Bullard (1866-1927), United States Navy admiral
Thaddeus Bullard (b. 1977), American professional wrestler who uses the ring name Titus O'Neil
Silas Bullard (1841-1922), American politician and jurist
Sarah Bullard (b. 1988), American lacrosse player
Sara Bullard, American writer
Samuel A. Bullard (1853-1926), American architect, politician, and university trustee
Rose Talbot Bullard (1864-1915), American medical doctor and professor
Bill Bullard Jr. (1943-2020), American politician, Member of the Michigan Senate (1996-2002)
Robert Lee Bullard (1861-1947), American General
Henry Adams Bullard (1788-1851), American politician, member of the U. S. House of Representatives representing Louisiana
... (Another 7 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"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 10th September 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-st-vincent
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 5th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/burrell
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 21st September 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/fairlie
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 30th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/belgravia