Origins Available: English, French, Scottish
Early Origins of the Boville family
Cornwall where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, CITATION[CLOSE]
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8) indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Gwarnock, held by the Sir de Beville from the Earl of Moron, who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086. They were descended from Le Sire de Beville from Beuville near Caen in Normandy. The Sire married a Gwarnack heiress. In those days the name became widely influential and populated throughout southern England in Essex at Wykes priory, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Gloucestershire was known in eleven different counties undertook a variety of spellings.
Early History of the Boville family
Another 223 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1165, 1301, 1381, 1510, and 1600 are included under the topic Early Boville History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Boville Spelling Variations
spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Bevill, Beville, Bevile, Bevell, Bevel, Bevil, Beavil, Beavill, Beaville, Biville, Buiville, Buivill, Boiville, Boisville, Boville, Boyville, Belville, Bovile and many more.
Early Notables of the Boville family (pre 1700)
Another 25 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Boville Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Boville family to the New World and Oceana
Because of this political and religious unrest within English society, many people decided to immigrate to the colonies. Families left for Ireland, North America, and Australia in enormous numbers, traveling at high cost in extremely inhospitable conditions. The New World in particular was a desirable destination, but the long voyage caused many to arrive sick and starving. Those who made it, though, were welcomed by opportunities far greater than they had known at home in England. Many of these families went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Boville or a variant listed above: Edward Bevill, Robert Bevill, Noah Bevill, and James Bevill who all arrived in South Carolina between the years 1670 and 1684; John Bevill, a servant sent to Virginia in 1676.
Contemporary Notables of the name Boville (post 1700)
Boville Family Crest Products