Bowlby History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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England

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Bowlby is a name whose history is connected to the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the Bowlby family once lived in Boltby near Whitby, in the county of Yorkshire.

Early Origins of the Bowlby family

The surname Bowlby was first found in the North Riding of Yorkshire, at Boltby, a chapelry, in the parish of Felix-Kirk, union of Thirsk, wapentake of Birdforth. 1

Boltby dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was first listed as Boltebi 2 and literally meant "farmstead or village of a man called Boltr or Bolti" from the Viking personal name + "by." 3

"It appears more natural to assume that Boulby and Bowlby are modifications, but my last entry from the Hundredorum Rolls suggests a separate and independent origin. " 4

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list: Adam de Bolteby, Yorkshire; Hugh de Bolteby, Yorkshire; Adam de Boltby, Northumberland; and William de Boleby, Buckinghamshire. 4

Yorkshire is very close to the Scottish border, so it is not surprising to find early records there too.

"William de Bolteby witnessed a confirmation charter by Patrick earl of Dunbar of a grant to the Abbey of Melrose c. 1230-31, and as de Boltevy witnessed a charter of lands to the Priory of Coldstream c. 1232. His name probably comes from Boltby in Yorkshire, in DB. Boltebi and Bolteby." 5

Early History of the Bowlby family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bowlby research. Another 68 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bowlby History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bowlby 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 Bowlby family name include Boultby, Boultbee, Boultbie, Boltby, Bowlby and many more.

Early Notables of the Bowlby family

More information is included under the topic Early Bowlby Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bowlby Ranking

In the United States, the name Bowlby is the 13,846^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 6

Bowlby migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, 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 Bowlby surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Bowlby Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Edward Bowlby, who settled in Philadelphia in 1808

Bowlby Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Adine Bowlby, aged 30, who settled in America from London, England, in 1905
George H. Bowlby, aged 38, who landed in America from London, England, in 1905
Herbert Bowlby, aged 3, who landed in America, in 1907
Odina Bowlby, aged 35, who settled in America from London, England, in 1908
Richard F. Bowlby, aged 49, who immigrated to the United States, in 1908
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bowlby migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Bowlby Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Richard Bowlby Jr., U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1783 7
Mr. Richard Bowlby U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1783 7
Mr. Thomas Bowlby U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1783 7

Bowlby Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century

G. H. Bowlby, aged 35, who settled in Ontario, in 1904
Margaret Edith Bowlby, aged 22, who settled in Windsor, Ont., Canada, in 1920
Andrew Douglas Bowlby, aged 59, who settled in Windsor, Ont., Canada, in 1920
Edith Ellen Bowlby, aged 56, who immigrated to Windsor, Ont., Canada, in 1920

Contemporary Notables of the name Bowlby (post 1700) +

April Bowlby (b. 1980), American actress, best known for her role as Stacy on Drop Dead Diva and Alan Harper's dim-witted ex-wife in the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men
Thomas B. Bowlby, American Republican politician, Chair of Chemung County Republican Party, 1945 8
C. E. Bowlby, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Nebraska, 1912 8
Sir Richard Peregrine Longstaff Bowlby (b. 1941), 3rd Baronet, English peer
Sir Anthony Hugh Mostyn Bowlby (1906-1993), 2nd Baronet, English peer
Sir Anthony Bowlby (1855-1929), English physician, 1st Baronet Bowlby, surgeon to the King's Household, son of Thomas William Bowlby
Edward John Mostyn Bowlby (1907-1990), English psychologist, psychiatrist, and psychoanalyst, notable for his interest in child development and for his pioneering work in attachment theory, son of Anthony Alfred Bowlby
Thomas William Bowlby (1818-1860), British correspondent to The Times, son of Thomas Bowlby, born at Gibraltar, a captain in the royal artillery 9
John Bowlby (1907-1990), British developmental psychologist
Alan Bowlby Mollohan (b. 1943), American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from West Virginia, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008; U.S. Representative from West Virginia 1st District, 1983- 10