BOARD
Board is an English surname of the British Isles. Its earliest recorded form dated to the year 1230 appears as Nicholas Borde in the Pipe Rolls of Dorset. The name is therefore firmly established in medieval England.
The etymology of Board is considered to derive from the Old English word bord, meaning a plank or a board. This origin suggests that the name was originally occupational, applied to a maker of planks or a timber worker. An alternative explanation is that it was a topographical surname, given to a person who lived near a plank bridge or a boundary marker. A further possibility is that the name was a sobriquet for someone considered steady or level-headed, a meaning hinted at by the idiom as steady as a board.
In addition to Board, a variety of other spellings are attested in historical records. These include Boards, Boardman, Border, Boord, Borde, Laborde, Bordes, Bordas, Bordis, Bourdel, and many others. The final s that appears in some forms indicates a dwelling at a particular place, as in the name Bordis meaning “dweller at the bord.” Such variations show the flexibility of spelling in the Middle Ages and the influence of both Old English and French linguistic traditions on English surnames.
Examples of the surname in surviving documents illuminate its spread across Britain and beyond. Robert Bourde figures in the Subsidy Rolls of Somerset in 1323. Anne Bordish, who married Roger Willson at St Katherines by the Tower in London, is recorded in 1609. Jeanne La Borde married Jean Siot in Montaut in the Basses Pyrenees in 1634. Pierre Bordes, a French Huguenot refugee, was christened in 1727 at the French Church on Glasshouse Street in London; his son Pierre was baptised there in 1727 as well. William Bordis appears in records relating to Endell Street Hospital, Holborn, in 1776. These entries demonstrate the surname’s presence in England and in the French émigré community in the 17th and 18th centuries.
All of these sources indicate that the surname Board is rooted in the English lexicon, with occasional French influence, and that it has always been connected to specific places or occupations within the medieval and early modern societies of the British Isles.
Typical given names associated with the Board surname
Male
- Andrew
- David
- James
- John
- Matthew
- Michael
- Peter
- Richard
- Robert
- Simon
- Stephen
Female
- Deborah
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Helen
- Jane
- Julie
- Margaret
- Nicola
- Patricia
- Rachel
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
- Baard
- Baarda
- Baerd
- Baiardi
- Baiardo
- Baird
- Bairdow
- Bairds
- Bard
- Barda
- Bardai
- Barday
- Barde
- Bardeau
- Bardes
- Bardey
- Bardi
- Bardia
- Bardie
- Bardo
- Bardoe
- Bardou
- Bardow
- Bards
- Bardua
- Bardy
- Barot
- Barrat
- Barrd
- Barrett
- Barretto
- Baud
- Baude
- Bayard
- Beaird
- Beard
- Bearde
- Beardes
- Beardow
- Beards
- Beardy
- Behard
- Beird
- Berd
- Berde
- Berdo
- Biard
- Bierd
- Bird
- Birde
- Birdi
- Birds
- Boar
- Boardan
- Boarde
- Boarden
- Boarder
- Boardly
- Boardon
- Boards
- Boare
- Boart
- Boord
- Borad
- Bord
- Borda
- Bordas
- Borde
- Bordea
- Bordeau
- Bordei
- Bordes
- Bordi
- Bordia
- Bordie
- Bordoh
- Bordoy
- Bordy
- Bourd
- Bourda
- Bourde
- Bourdeau
- Boward
- Boyard
- Brade
- Bradie
- Bratt
- Brett
- Brito
- Brodie
- Buard
- Burd
- Burda
- Burde
- Burdi
- Burds
- Burrd
- Burred
- Burt
- Burtt
- Byard
- Byrd
- Obard
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Board in...
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There are approximately 2,212 people named Board in the UK. That makes it roughly the 3,875th most common surname in Britain. Around 34 in a million people in Britain are named Board.
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Board
- Lillian Board - Middle-distance runner (1948 to 1970)
- Andrew George Board - Army officer (1878 to 1973)
- Michael Board - Free diver
- Jack Board - Cricket player of England. (1867 to 1924)
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.