Show ContentsBoilard History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Boilard Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Boilard

What does the name Boilard mean?

The saga of the name Boilard follows a line reaching back through history to the days of the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It was a name for someone who worked as a person who worked as a bull herder or a keeper of cattle. The surname Boilard 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 Boilard family

The surname Boilard 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 Boilard family

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

Boilard Spelling Variations

Before the last few hundred years, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations are commonly found in early Anglo-Saxon surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Boilard were recorded, including Bullard, Buliard, Bolhard, Bulard, Bulward and others.

Early Notables of the Boilard family

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

Boilard Ranking

Quebec, Canada, the name Boilard is the 794th most popular surname. 5

Migration of the Boilard family

To escape oppression and starvation at that time, many English families left for the "open frontiers" of the New World with all its perceived opportunities. In droves people migrated to the many British colonies, those in North America in particular, paying high rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Although many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, those who did see the shores of North America perceived great opportunities before them. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the Boilard family emigrate to North America: 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.

Contemporary Notables of the name Boilard (post 1700) +

  • Maxim Boilard (b. 1978), Canadian Olympic sprint canoer
  1. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  2. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  3. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  4. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  5. "The first 1,000 family names by rank, Quebec (in French only)" Institut de la statistique du Quebec, https://statistique.quebec.ca/en/document/family-names-in-quebec/tableau/the-first-1000-family-names-by-rank-quebec

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