Boalearde History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Boalearde name was originally an Anglo-Saxon name that was given to a person who worked as a bull herder or a keeper of cattle. The surname Boalearde 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 Boalearde family

The surname Boalearde 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 Boalearde family

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

Boalearde Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Boalearde has undergone many spelling variations, including Bullard, Buliard, Bolhard, Bulard, Bulward and others.

Early Notables of the Boalearde family

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

Migration of the Boalearde family

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Boalearde were among those contributors: Robert Bullard who arrived in New England in 1634 and Henry Bullard who sailed to Virginia in 1636. Major-General Robert Lee Bullard, who was born at Youngsboro in Alabama in 1861.

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)