Show ContentsBoail History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The chronicles of the Boail family show that the name was first used in the Scottish/English Borderlands by the Strathclyde-Britons. It was a name for a person who lived in Lanarkshire. The Boail surname is a habitational name, taken on from the place name Arbuckle (or Arnbuckle), in the parish of Airdrie, Lanarkshire. The Gaelic name for the place was earrann buachaille, meaning the "herdsman's portion" (of land).

Early Origins of the Boail family

The surname Boail was first found in Lanarkshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Lannraig) a former county in the central Strathclyde region of Scotland, now divided into the Council Areas of North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, and the City of Glasgow. John Arnbuckle was recorded as a witness in Irvine in 1499, and later John Arbuckle purchased a lot of land in the city of Glasgow in the year 1511. 1

Early History of the Boail family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Boail research. Another 72 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1624, 1685, 1700, 1742, 1838 and 1912 are included under the topic Early Boail History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Boail Spelling Variations

The origin of rules governing the spelling of names and even words is a very recent innovation. Before that, words and names were spelled according to sound, and, therefore, often appeared under several different spelling variations in a single document. Boail has been spelled Arbuckle, Arnbuckle, Arbukile, Arbukill, Arbuckell, Arbuckles, Arbucles, Arbucle, Arbukle and many more.

Early Notables of the Boail family

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

Migration of the Boail family to Ireland

Some of the Boail family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 50 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Boail family

The persecution faced in their homeland left many Scots with little to do but sail for the colonies of North America. There they found land, freedom, opportunity, and nations in the making. They fought for their freedom in the American War of Independence, or traveled north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. In both cases, they made enormous contributions to the formation of those great nations. Among them: John Arbuckle who landed in America and settled in New Jersey in 1685; James Arbuckle settled in Augusta County VA. in 1762; Thomas Arbuckle settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1831.



  1. 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)


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