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Boyd Family History

Boyd Surname Meaning

Scottish: habitational name from the island of Bute in the Firth of Clyde from Bòid (genitive case of Bòd, the Gaelic name of the island of Bute) or Bòideach denoting a person from Bute.

Alternatively, the name may denote descendants of a Gilla filius Boed who appears in reference to Glasgow Cathedral in the early 12th century, perhaps from the Gaelic personal name Boite, of uncertain origin.

Scottish and Irish: from the Gaelic epithet buidhe ‘yellow(-haired)’. Compare Bowie.

Manx: from Mac Gille Buidhe ‘son of the yellow-haired lad’ (compare 2 above).

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Boyd family from?

You can see how Boyd families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Boyd family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Boyd families were found in USA in 1880. In 1840 there were 308 Boyd families living in Pennsylvania. This was about 16% of all the recorded Boyd's in USA. Pennsylvania had the highest population of Boyd families in 1840.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Boyd surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
  • 1840
  • 1880
  • 1920
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What did your Boyd ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Farmer and Maid were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Boyd. 17% of Boyd men worked as a Farmer and 9% of Boyd women worked as a Maid. Some less common occupations for Americans named Boyd were Truck Driver and Cook.

View Census Data for Boyd | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1940

  • Farmer
    17%
  • Laborer
    17%
  • Salesman
    4%
  • Truck Driver
    3%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

  • Maid
    9%
  • Housewife
    6%
  • Teacher
    6%
  • Cook
    6%

What Boyd family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 836,000 census records available for the last name Boyd. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Boyd census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search US census records for Boyd

Passenger Lists

There are 103,000 immigration records available for the last name Boyd. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the USA, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Boyd immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 156,000 military records available for the last name Boyd. For the veterans among your Boyd ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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