Show ContentsBoly History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Boly family

The surname Boly was first found in Dumfriesshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Dhùn Phris), a Southern area, bordering on England that today forms part of the Dumfries and Galloway Council Area, where one of the first records of the name was William Bully was listed as a bailie of Edinburgh in 1403. Bulley is a hamlet in Gloucestershire, almost 7 miles (11 km) west of the city of Gloucester.

Early History of the Boly family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Boly research. Another 71 words (5 lines of text) covering the year 1418 is included under the topic Early Boly History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Boly Spelling Variations

Spelling and translation were hardly exact sciences in Medieval Scotland. Sound, rather than any set of rules, was the basis for spellings, so one name was often spelled different ways even within a single document. Spelling variations are thus an extremely common occurrence in Medieval Scottish names. Boly has been spelled Bully, Bulley, Bullie and others.

Early Notables of the Boly family

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


New Zealand Boly 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:

Boly Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • E. Boly (Boby), British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Randolph" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand in September 1850 1


  1. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html


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