Boswell Surname

13,106th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 42,763 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Jamaica

Boswell Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'de Bosville,' 'a village of 1400 inhabitants, near Yvetot, in Normandy. The family were in England in 1136, and probably from the period of the Conquest' (Lower's Patr. Brit). This is the true parentage of Boswell, although it has such an English local look.

Read More About This Surname

Boswell Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States30,2221:11,9931,489
England6,3191:8,8181,278
Australia1,3821:19,5342,710
South Africa9091:59,6017,526
Canada9011:40,8945,098
Jamaica7601:3,776539
New Zealand6581:6,8821,167
Wales4661:6,641735
Scotland3821:14,0151,794
Northern Ireland981:18,8272,358
Trinidad and Tobago601:22,7332,550
Japan511:2,506,75130,743
Zimbabwe481:321,63031,533
Ireland451:104,6435,503
Thailand441:1,605,417210,847
Singapore431:128,0865,748
Belgium431:267,36432,244
Germany301:2,683,515132,064
France271:2,460,101186,232
Dominican Republic231:453,60614,824
Spain211:2,226,28755,801
Tanzania201:2,647,08148,780
Nigeria191:9,323,303191,560
Sweden191:518,25037,550
Panama101:391,2268,067
Qatar91:262,00030,726
Philippines91:11,248,691221,039
Morocco91:3,830,67854,497
Malawi91:1,902,12319,532
Austria91:946,15970,786
Antigua and Barbuda91:11,0191,084
India81:95,883,173728,828
Brazil71:30,582,047441,004
United States Virgin Islands61:18,3962,503
Finland61:916,11741,832
United Arab Emirates61:1,527,04651,993
China51:273,464,31313,838
Switzerland51:1,642,58387,307
Afghanistan41:8,038,29630,874
Hong Kong41:1,833,8716,220
Saudi Arabia41:7,713,95437,548
Israel31:2,852,545113,505
Netherlands31:5,629,059132,535
Malaysia31:9,831,408269,765
Italy31:20,385,563143,117
South Korea21:25,620,1284,175
Russia21:72,061,528727,117
Peru21:15,892,06251,966
Uganda21:19,519,640189,114
Mexico21:62,063,10283,384
Indonesia21:66,124,597756,638
Greece21:5,539,895129,142
Georgia21:1,872,77235,618
Chile21:8,808,23765,417
Turks and Caicos Islands11:34,329862
Turkey11:77,821,422191,047
Bangladesh11:159,356,77326,077
Vietnam11:92,646,0548,382
Zambia11:15,849,92253,989
Norway11:5,142,286129,201
Iceland11:380,09011,096
Costa Rica11:4,780,06913,345
Cyprus11:884,87613,055
Denmark11:5,644,71593,155
Ecuador11:15,905,84650,210
Estonia11:1,321,80440,178
Fiji11:894,3914,568
Ghana11:27,020,69223,742
Guam11:160,1214,893
Belize11:355,4743,977
Iraq11:35,021,65431,813
Isle of Man11:85,8224,091
Kuwait11:3,800,69427,187
Latvia11:2,050,04660,295
Macau11:601,6301,582
Botswana11:2,186,92930,250
Portugal11:10,418,24125,048
Saint Lucia11:178,7813,800
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland281:158,2108,327
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England2,5001:9,7501,468
Scotland2301:16,2751,761
Wales711:22,0901,271
Isle of Man71:7,753762
Jersey21:25,9413,069
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States5,0891:9,8681,268

Boswell (1,572) may also be a first name.

Boswell Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'de Bosville,' 'a village of 1400 inhabitants, near Yvetot, in Normandy. The family were in England in 1136, and probably from the period of the Conquest' (Lower's Patr. Brit). This is the true parentage of Boswell, although it has such an English local look.

John de Bosevill, Lincolnshire, 20 Edward I: Placita de Quo Warranto, temp. Edward I-III.

John de Bosevil, Yorkshire, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Henry de Bosevil, Northamptonshire, ibid.

Simon de Bosevill, Bedfordshire, Henry III Edward I: Testa de Nevill, sive Liber Feodorum, temp. Henry III-Edward I.

Agnes Bosseuill, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Robert de Bosewill, or Bosville, Norfolk, 1360: History of Norfolk.

Walkcline de Bosevile, Norfolk, 1199: ibid.

Isabell Boswel, Norfolk, 1464: ibid.

William Boswell, Norfolk, 1620: ibid.

1752. Married — Thomas Simpson and Sarah Boswell: St. George, Hanover Square.

1780 — William Ward and Julia Bosville: ibid.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

(French-Teut.-Latin) belonging to Bosville (Normandy) = the Wood- Town [v. under Boss 1, and + French ville, a town, Latin villa, a country-house] John de Bosevil.—Hundred Rolls

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

Corruption of Bosville, in France.

South African Surnames (1965) by Eric Rosenthal

(English) One who came from Bosville (wood town), a village in Normandy.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

Originally De Bosevil, (H.R.)-of Norman extraction. They migrated from England to Scotland in the reign of David I.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Local: from bosch, a wood, and vlle, a village. The family was established in Scotland, temp. David I.

The Origin and Signification of Scottish Surnames (1862) by Clifford Stanley Sims (1839-1896)

Local. A corruption of Bosseville; from Bosch, a wood, and ville, a village. Bothel, Gaelic, the house of the powerful.

An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur

Armorially identified with Bosville.

The Norman People (1874)

From the French, Bosseville; a personal name Bosville; a location name in Normandy.

British Family Names: Their Origin and Meaning (1903) by Henry Barber

Boswell: derives from Bosville, in Seine-Inférieure.

Family Names And Their Story (1913) by Sabine Baring-Gould

User-submitted Reference

Boswell is known as one of the most venerated Romany Gypsy surnames, with the group claiming it as their name after arrival to England at the beginning of the 17th century. On one line, the name was Boss, with it being corrupted into Boswell in later generations. It is thought that they claimed the names 'Boswell', 'Boss' and other variations, after those who assisted them or from famous people of the time. (Such as biographer James Boswell).

Bearers of Boswell, who were Romany Gypsy:

- Viney (Soliveno) Boswell, died in 1848 (Wybunbury, Cheshire).

- Moses Mochus Maoti Boswell, born in 1853 (Derby, Derbyshire) and died in 1929 (Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire).

- Bozevannah Boswell, born in 1821 (Terrington St John, Norfolk).

- Cinderella Boswell, born in 1828 (Sutton-on-Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire).

- bozevannah

Boswell Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Boswell Come From? nationality or country of origin

The surname Boswell (Marathi: बॉसवेल) has its highest incidence in The United States. It may also be found as:. Click here for other potential spellings of this last name.

How Common Is The Last Name Boswell? popularity and diffusion

The last name Boswell is the 13,106th most frequently used last name on earth, borne by around 1 in 170,417 people. The last name is predominantly found in The Americas, where 75 percent of Boswell are found; 73 percent are found in North America and 73 percent are found in Anglo-North America. Boswell is also the 195,254th most widespread first name throughout the world. It is borne by 1,572 people.

It is most widely held in The United States, where it is borne by 30,222 people, or 1 in 11,993. In The United States Boswell is most frequent in: Texas, where 10 percent are found, Georgia, where 8 percent are found and California, where 8 percent are found. Without taking into account The United States Boswell exists in 77 countries. It is also common in England, where 15 percent are found and Australia, where 3 percent are found.

Boswell Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The occurrence of Boswell has changed through the years. In The United States the number of people who held the Boswell last name expanded 594 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it expanded 253 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Wales it expanded 656 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Scotland it expanded 166 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it expanded 161 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Boswell Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those holding the Boswell surname is predominantly Catholic (44%) in Ireland.

In The United States Boswell are 16.77% more likely to be registered Republicans than the national average, with 63.54% registered with the political party.

The amount Boswell earn in different countries varies notably. In South Africa they earn 22.42% more than the national average, earning R 290,928 per year; in United States they earn 1.87% less than the national average, earning $42,341 USD per year and in Canada they earn 16.75% more than the national average, earning $58,004 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

Boswell Name Transliterations

TransliterationICU LatinPercentage of Incidence
Boswell in the Marathi language
बॉसवेलbosavela-

Search for Another Surname

Boswell Reference & Research

Boswell DNA Website - A web page dedicated to the genetic research of those who bear the surname and its variants.

Boswell FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Boswell
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis