Bok History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

The story of the Bok family stretches back through time to the Viking settlers who populated the rugged shores of Scotland in the Medieval era. The Bok name comes from a place named by these Vikings and was used by a family who lived in a place noted for the presence of a ridge that formed a boundary between two distinct areas. It comes from a variant of the word boak or balk, of the same meaning. While historians generally agree upon the aforementioned topographical derivation, most believe that this name actually came from the area called Boak in the parish of Kirkholm.

Early Origins of the Bok family

The surname Bok was first found in Berwickshire an ancient county of Scotland, presently part of the Scottish Borders Council Area, located in the eastern part of the Borders Region of Scotland, where they held a family seat from ancient times, long before the Norman Conquest in 1066.

Early History of the Bok family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bok research. Another 92 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1546, 1576, 1632, 1683 and are included under the topic Early Bok History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bok Spelling Variations

In the Middle Ages, no real standards were established to judge the accuracy of spelling and translation. They were done mostly by ear and intuition, and enormous numbers of spelling variations were the unsurprising result. Bok has appeared as Boag, Boig, Book, Boack, Boge, Bogue, Boak, Bouk, Bouck, Bogues, Bogg, Boggs and many more.

Early Notables of the Bok family (pre 1700)

More information is included under the topic Early Bok Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Bok family to Ireland

Some of the Bok family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bok migration to the United States +

North America was far from Britain's oppressive monarchy. There, the Scottish found land and freedom, and many even the opportunity to pay back England in the American War of Independence. This brave heritage survives today largely in Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations. Research into passenger and immigration lists has brought forth evidence of the early members of the Bok family in North America:

Bok Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Joseph Bok, who landed in New York in 1709 ^[1]

Bok Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Mrs. De Bok, who arrived in Iowa in 1849 ^[1]
Mrs. be Bok, who landed in Iowa in 1849 ^[1]
Dingeman De Bok, who arrived in Iowa in 1849 ^[1]
Margaretha Bok, who arrived in Buffalo, NY in 1854 ^[1]
Joh Bok, who arrived in Buffalo, NY in 1854 ^[1]
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Bok (post 1700) +

Sissela Bok (b. 1934), Swedish-born American philosopher and ethicist, the daughter of two Nobel Prize winners
Hilary Bok (b. 1959), Henry R. Luce Professor of Bioethics and Moral & Political Theory at the Johns Hopkins University
Edward William Bok (1863-1930), Dutch-American editor and Pulitzer Prize-winning author
Derek Curtis Bok (b. 1930), American lawyer and educator, and the former president of Harvard University
Bart Jan Bok (1906-1983), Dutch-American astronomer

Citations +

^ 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)