BOAL
Boal is a surname of both Gaelic and Anglo‑Saxon provenance. The name is recorded in the region of the British Isles, with particular concentrations in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
In Gaelic tradition, the surname Boal is derived from the word bòghill, meaning “soft, gentle”. It was originally employed as a nickname for an individual noted for a mild or calm disposition. Over the following centuries this nickname evolved into a hereditary surname. Today the surname remains largely concentrated within Scotland and the northern provinces of Ireland, where it retains a pronounced Celtic character.
An alternative origin, reflecting an Anglo‑Saxon derivation, attests that Boal may also arise from the Old English term bolla, meaning “a bowl or drinking vessel”, combined with the agentive suffix -er, designating a person who made or sold bowls. Consequently, the surname was originally occupational in nature, being assigned to craftsmen working with wooden or earthenware vessels.
The earliest documentary evidence of the name appears in the late thirteenth century. In 1273 the “Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire” record the entry John le Bolour, during the reign of King Edward I, often referred to as “The Hammer of the Scots”. Subsequent medieval records record individuals bearing the name in London and York: Robert le Boller appears in the writs of Parliament for London in 1301, and John Foune, “boller” is noted in the register of the freemen of the City of York in 1336.
During the late sixteenth century, church registers from London provide additional evidence of variations in spelling, including Bowler, Bouller, Booler and Boler. For example, on 23 April 1581 Raphe Bowler married Agnes Bradley at St. Margaret Pattens; on 22 October 1592 Nicholas Bouler wed Emry Barles at St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury; and on 28 September 1763 Rachel Boller married Edward Nash in Ealing.
These records demonstrate the persistence of the surname Boal and its variants throughout medieval and early modern Britain, confirming its dual linguistic heritage and geographical distribution within the British Isles.
Typical given names associated with the Boal surname
Male
- Andrew
- Colin
- David
- James
- John
- Michael
- Philip
- Richard
- Robert
- Thomas
- William
Female
- Brenda
- Catherine
- Christine
- Elizabeth
- Helen
- Jean
- Karen
- Linda
- Lynn
- Margaret
- Mary
- Nicola
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
- Bail
- Bal
- Ball
- Bell
- Belle
- Bill
- Blee
- Blue
- Boa
- Boald
- Boale
- Boales
- Boall
- Boals
- Boalt
- Bohl
- Bohli
- Boil
- Bola
- Bolah
- Bolas
- Bold
- Bole
- Bolea
- Boles
- Boley
- Bolf
- Boli
- Bolia
- Boll
- Bolla
- Bollas
- Bolli
- Bollie
- Bollo
- Bolls
- Bollu
- Bolly
- Bolou
- Bolt
- Bolu
- Bolue
- Boly
- Bolye
- Bolz
- Boole
- Bowl
- Bowlah
- Bowlas
- Bowles
- Bowls
- Bowly
- Boyle
- Obal
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Boal in...
Braille
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Morse
-...---.-.-..
Semaphore
There are approximately 678 people named Boal in the UK. That makes it roughly the 9,925th most common surname in Britain. Around ten in a million people in Britain are named Boal.
Origin: Celtic
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: Ireland
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: Gaelic
Famous people named Boal
- Desmond Boal - Northern Irish politician, activist and barrister (1928 to 2015)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.