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The chronicles of Scottish history reveal that the first people to use the name Bouma were the Strathclyde-Britons. It was a name for a person who made bows, a bowyer. "This surname is derived from an occupation. 'the bowmaker,' a bowyer." 1
The surname Bouma was first found in Peeblesshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd nam Pùballan), former county in South-central Scotland, in the present day Scottish Borders Council Area, where they held a family seat in the old manor of Bower in the parish of Drummelzier. Further south "a family of the name lived in Alnwick for several centuries, and it is chiefly in Newcastle and South Northumberland." 1
"In 1343 there is entry of payment for wine for Gislinus boumaker. In 1376 John Bovmaker was bailie of Haddington, and in 1395 he was deputy of William Cockburn bailie of the same burgh. In 1396 he appears again as John Bouman, which seems to point to Bower, Bowmaker, and Bowman being the same in meaning. " 2
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bouma research. Another 185 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1343, 1376, 1385, 1395, 1417, 1422, 1449, 1539, 1557, 1558, 1563 and 1648 are included under the topic Early Bouma History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Prior to the first dictionaries, scribes spelled words according to sound. This, and the fact that Scottish names were repeatedly translated from Gaelic to English and back, contributed to the enormous number of spelling variations in Scottish names. Bouma has been spelled Bowmaker, Bowmakker, Boumaker, Bomaker, Bowmacre and many more.
Notable amongst the family at this time was Walter Bower or Bowmaker (c. 1385-1449), Scottish chronicler, Abbot of Inchcolm (1417-1449); Thomas Bowmaker, 1539, Newcastle-on-Tyne was noted as capabvle of bearing arms; well...
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bouma Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In Netherlands, the name Bouma is the 175th most popular surname with an estimated 6,731 people with that name. 3
Another 36 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In such difficult times, the difficulties of raising the money to cross the Atlantic to North America did not seem so large compared to the problems of keeping a family together in Scotland. It was a journey well worth the cost, since it was rewarded with land and freedom the Scots could not find at home. The American War of Independence solidified that freedom, and many of those settlers went on to play important parts in the forging of a great nation. Among them: