Bois History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France
Scotland

The Bois surname comes form the French word "bois", which means "woods". It was originally a name for someone who lived or worked in a wooded area. 1

Early Origins of the Bois family

The surname Bois was first found in Bretagne (Brittany) where several notable families of this name have long been established. Among them were the du Bois de Locmaria, de Bruslé, de Kerhuel, du Mauduet, de Boismarqué, du Boisadam, du Boisarmé, du Boisberthelot, du Boisbilly, and du Bois de la Salle. Many noble families with the surname were also found in Poitou, Maine, Anjou, Saintonge, Normandy, and Touraine. 2

Early History of the Bois family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bois research. Another 80 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1543, 1574, 1587, 1653, 1656, 1680, 1851 and 1856 are included under the topic Early Bois History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bois Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Bois, Dubois, Desbois, Bosc, Bosq, Desbosq, Dubosc, Duboscq, Delbos and many more.

Early Notables of the Bois family

Notable amongst this name at this time was

Jacques-Dubois, Principal of the Tournai College in Paris in the fifteenth century
Antoine Dubois was bishop of Béziers at this time.Ambroise Dubois, a painter in Anvers in 1543
Anne Dubois was a abbess in 1574
Gaspar Dubois was archbishop of Cambrai in 1587
Guillaume Dubois was cardinal, born in Brive (Bas-Limousin) in 1656
Jean Dubois, who was born and died in Dijon in the seventeenth century, was a sculptor and architect
Charles Bois was a pastor at this time
Jean Dubois was the third bishop of New York- a vicar in Saint-Sulpice at the time of the Revolution, he refused to preach and, thanks to a push from Robespierre himself, he left for the United States...
Désiré-Georges-Jean-Marie Bois, born in 1856
Paul Dubois was a sculptor and painter at this time
Louis-Ernest Dubois was archbishop of Paris

Bois Ranking

In Quebec, Canada, the name Bois is the 560^th most popular surname. 3 However, in France, the name Bois is ranked the 612^nd most popular surname with an estimated 7,728 people with that name. 4

Bois migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Bois Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Bois, who landed in Virginia in 1705 5
Jacques Du Bois, who arrived in Louisiana in 1719 5

Bois migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Bois Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

Mathurin Bois married in Chateau-Richer, Quebec in 1672

Bois Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Jacques Bois married in Rivière-Ouelle in 1704
Jacques Bois, son of René and Reine, who married Anne Soucy, daughter of Jean and Jeanne, in Rivière-Ouelle, Quebec on 5th March 1704 6
Jacques Bois, son of Jacques and Anne, who married Angélique Mignier, daughter of Michel and Angélique, in Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, Quebec on 30th November 1730 6
Bernard Bois, son of Jacques and Anne, who married Madeleine Pelletier, daughter of Jean-François and Madeleine, in Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, Quebec on 26th November 1736 6
Charles Bois, son of Pierre and Jeanne, who married Geneviève Letarte, daughter of Joseph and Catherine, in L'Ange-Gardien, Quebec on 5th November 1742 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Bois (post 1700) +

Raoul Pene Du Bois (1914-1985), American costume designer and scenic designer, nominated for two Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction
William Pène du Bois (1916-1993), French American author and illustrator
Travis Du Bois Jr., American politician, Mayor of Waco, Texas, 1970-71 7
George Du Bois, American politician, Candidate for New York State Assembly from Albany County 2nd District, 1900 7
Coert du Bois (b. 1881), American politician, U.S. Consul in Paris, 1919-20; Naples, 1920-21; Port Said, 1922; U.S. Consul General in Batavia, 1927-30; Genoa, 1931; Naples, 1931-35; Havana, 1938 7
Major-General Thophile-Eugne-Dsir-Marie Bois (1880-1974), 8
Brigadier-General Samuel Bois (1890-1958), French Commanding Officer during World War II 9
Jean-Claude Bois (b. 1934), French politician
Rob du Bois (b. 1934), Dutch composer, pianist, and jurist
Daniel "Danny" Bois (b. 1983), Canadian professional ice hockey winger
... (Another 5 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Dionne, N.-E., Origine Des Familles Canadiennes-Français. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969. Print.
Hozier, Charles D, and Antoine Bachelin-Delforenne. État présent De La Noblesse française (1883-1887): Contenant Le Distionnaire De La Noblesse Contemporaine Et Larmorial général De France, Dapres Les Manuscrits De Ch. D Hozier. Librairie Des Bibliophiles, 1884. Print.
"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
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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)
Internoscia, Arthur E., and Claire Chevrier. Dictionnaire National des Canadiens Français 1608-1760. Vol. 1, Institut Drouin, 1958.
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 13) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, October 3) Thophile-Eugne-Dsir-Marie Bois. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Bois/Th%C3%A9ophile-Eug%C3%A8ne-D%C3%A9sir%C3%A9-Marie/France.html
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, October 3) Samuel Bois. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Bois/Samuel-Louis-Alcide/France.html