The Boyd Coat of Arms and Name Meaning
Discover the meaning of Boyd, its origins in Scotland, and the story behind a Boyd family crest.
Order your pack and our heraldry team researches and paints the Boyd coat of arms for you.
Origin of the Boyd name
Boyd is a Scottish name, most often explained as "of Bute", from Gaelic Bód, the island in the Firth of Clyde. The Boyds became a powerful Ayrshire family, holding Kilmarnock, and briefly dominated the Scottish government in the 1460s during the minority of James III. The name later spread widely in Ulster, and Ulster Scots carried it to America.
Our historical archives hold much more on the Boyd name: dates, names and records of early bearers.
This overview covers the Boyd name in Scotland. We also hold records of the name in other countries, such as the United States, Northern Ireland and Canada; your full pack is researched for your family's country of origin.
Get your full Boyd family history
The complete Boyd pack goes much further: documented origins, early records and family spread, plus a hand-checked coat of arms.
Boyd name FAQ
What does the Boyd name mean?
Of Bute. Common variants include Boid, Boyde, Bodie.
Where does the Boyd surname come from?
It originates in Scotland, and is also found in the United States, Northern Ireland and Canada.
Is there a Boyd coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals, not whole surnames, so there is no single Boyd crest. Herald Lab paints a personalized Boyd coat of arms based on historic heraldry.
Researched by Herald Lab Research Studio, since 1993. Sources: George F. Black, The Surnames of Scotland (New York Public Library, 1946); Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford); US Census Bureau 2010.