Show ContentsBoddie History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Boddie is of Anglo-Saxon origin. It was name for a person with a striking physique.

Early Origins of the Boddie family

The surname Boddie was first found in Hampshire where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Early History of the Boddie family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Boddie research. Another 135 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1296, 1597, 1688 and 1754 are included under the topic Early Boddie History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Boddie Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Boddie have been found, including Body, Boddy, Boddie, Bodie, Bode, Bodhy, Bodin, Bott, Botter, Bodds, Bods, Botty and many more.

Early Notables of the Boddie family

Another 30 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Boddie Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Boddie Ranking

In the United States, the name Boddie is the 6,453rd most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. [1]

Ireland Migration of the Boddie family to Ireland

Some of the Boddie family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Boddie migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Among the first immigrants of the name Boddie, or a variant listed above to cross the Atlantic and come to North America were:

Boddie Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • William Boddie, who arrived in Virginia in 1655 [2]

New Zealand Boddie 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:

Boddie Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Miss Elizabeth Boddie, British settler travelling from Portsmouth aboard the ship "Duke of Portland" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 13th October 1851 [3]

Contemporary Notables of the name Boddie (post 1700) +

  • James R. Boddie, American electrical engineer who created the AT&T DSP1, a pioneering digital signal processor from Bell Labs
  • Whitney Boddie, American WNBA professional women's basketball player in 2009


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. 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)
  3. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html


Houseofnames.com on Facebook