Boswell is used as a family name or surname in Ireland, Scotland. It is 7 characters long in length.

Family Name / Last Name: Boswell
No. of characters: 7
Origin: Ireland, Scotland
Meaning:

Originally De Bosevil, (Hundred Rolls)— of Norman extraction. They migrated from England to Scotland in the reign of David I.
The change from Ville to Well as a termination is also seen in the alteration of Rosseville to Roswell, la Ville to Larwell or Larwill, Frecheville to Fretwell, &c.

One who came from Bosville meaning "wood town," a village in Normandy.

The lastname Boswell is a variant form of Buswell. A variant of Boswell meaning one who came from Bosville meaning "wood town," a village in Normandy.

The variant form of Bosville. In the Hundred Rolls De Bosevil. Bosville is a village of 1400 inhabitants, near Yvetot in Normandy. The family were in England in 1126, and probably from the period of the Conquest.

Family name is the variation of Bowell. Probably the same as Boville and Boyle. De Bowell found in Hundred Rolls.

Boswell is the variant of Buswell. See Boswell - Originally De Bosevil, (Hundred Rolls)— of Norman extraction. They migrated from England to Scotland in the reign of David I.
The change from Ville to Well as a termination is also seen in the alteration of Rosseville to Roswell, la Ville to Larwell or Larwill, Frecheville to Fretwell, &c.

Historian Nisbet says: "The first of this name is said to have been a Norman, and to have come into Scotland in the reign of Malcolm III., and possessed lands in the Merse, called after them (his descendants) Boswell Lands."

How popular is Boswell?

Boswell is common in United States, England, Australia, South Africa, Canada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Wales, Scotland.

Boswell is ranked 13114 on our list.

Despite the fact that the number of Boswell bearers increased by 2.8 per cent in 2010 US census to 22540 since 2000, the surname slipped by 98 spots and ranked at 1591. The last name was found in around 8 per hundred thousand population. Please refer to following table for race and ethnicity.

Race 2010 2000
White 77.11 79.61
Black 16.31 15.44
Others 2.37 1.78
Hispanic or Latino 2.33 1.59
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.37 1.23
Asian and Native Hawaiian
& Other Pacific Islander		 0.51 0.35
Boswell is quite popular family name mostly used in United States while Jamaica is ahead in terms of density. Around 42753 people have been found who wears Boswell as their family name. Boswell is used widely across the globe. More detailed information can be found below:
RankCountryCount
Countries with ten thousands of Boswell:
1,490 United States30,212
Countries with thousands of Boswell:
1,278 England6,319
2,710 Australia1,382
Countries with hundreds of Boswell:
7,526 South Africa909
5,098 Canada901
539 Jamaica760
1,167 New Zealand658
735 Wales466
1,794 Scotland382
Countries with low frequency i.e., 50 - 100:
2,358 Northern Ireland98
2,550 Trinidad and Tobago60
30,743 Japan51
Countries with very low frequency i.e., 10 - 50:
31,533 Zimbabwe48
5,503 Ireland45
210,847 Thailand44
5,748 Singapore43
32,244 Belgium43
132,064 Germany30
186,232 France27
14,824 Dominican Republic23
55,801 Spain21
48,780 Tanzania20
191,560 Nigeria19
37,550 Sweden19
Countries with very very low frequency i.e., 6 - 10:
8,067 Panama10
30,726 Qatar9
54,497 Morocco9
19,532 Malawi9
70,786 Austria9
221,039 Philippines9
1,084 Antigua and Barbuda9
728,828 India8
440,995 Brazil7
2,503 United States Virgin Islands6
41,832 Finland6
51,993 United Arab Emirates6
Show Full Last Name Distribution

Immigrants to US

From Ireland

Barin Boswell worked as immigrant and hailed from Ireland. During the great famine, 20 years old embarked for USA from Liverpool on Loodianah and arrived on October 31, 1848. Workman John Boswell, Jane Boswell, aged 29, Patt Boswell, James Boswell (30) Immigrant, Thomas Boswell, aged 28, Immigrant Ann Boswell, William Boswell, aged 20, Tinman Josiah Boswell, and 4 other Boswell around 50% of whom were workman migrated to US.

From Germany

22 years old laborer Robert Boswell who was residing in Germany migrated to USA on August 22, 1881 by Lord Gough put out from Liverpool.

Boswell Namesakes

  • Mark Boswell, Canadian high jumper
  • Granny Boswell, had a reputation as a witch
  • Kris Boswell, radio personality in Sweden
  • Scott Boswell, English cricketer
  • Lewis Archer Boswell, early aviation pioneer
  • Thomas Boswell, American sports columnist
  • Richard Boswell, stock car driver
  • James Griffin Boswell, was founder of the J. G. Boswell Company
  • James Boswell, Scottish biographer and diarist, born in Edinburgh
  • Leonard Boswell, American politician
  • Tim Boswell, English politician
  • Ron Boswell, former Australian politician
  • Bobby Boswell, retired American soccer player
  • David Boswell, comic book writer and artist, illustrator
  • Stewart Boswell, professional squash player from Australia
  • George Boswell, contestant on the first and seventh seasons of the American version of the CBS reality show 'Big Brother'
  • John Boswell, historian and a full professor at Yale University
  • Cedric Boswell, professional heavyweight boxer
  • Connee Boswell, American female vocalist
  • Simon Boswell, BAFTA-nominated British film score composer
  • Eve Boswell, successful pop singer in Britain in the 1950s
  • Jimmy Boswell, English professional footballer
  • Tom Boswell, retired American professional basketball player
  • Waraire Boswell, American fashion designer
  • Ken Boswell, former professional baseball player
  • Ben Boswell, American football offensive lineman

Boswell Namesakes

  • Mark Boswell, Canadian high jumper
  • Granny Boswell, had a reputation as a witch
  • Kris Boswell, radio personality in Sweden
  • Scott Boswell, English cricketer
  • Lewis Archer Boswell, early aviation pioneer
  • Thomas Boswell, American sports columnist
  • Richard Boswell, stock car driver
  • James Griffin Boswell, was founder of the J. G. Boswell Company
  • James Boswell, Scottish biographer and diarist, born in Edinburgh
  • Leonard Boswell, American politician
  • Tim Boswell, English politician
  • Ron Boswell, former Australian politician
  • Bobby Boswell, retired American soccer player
  • David Boswell, comic book writer and artist, illustrator
  • Stewart Boswell, professional squash player from Australia
  • George Boswell, contestant on the first and seventh seasons of the American version of the CBS reality show 'Big Brother'
  • John Boswell, historian and a full professor at Yale University
  • Cedric Boswell, professional heavyweight boxer
  • Connee Boswell, American female vocalist
  • Simon Boswell, BAFTA-nominated British film score composer
  • Eve Boswell, successful pop singer in Britain in the 1950s
  • Jimmy Boswell, English professional footballer
  • Tom Boswell, retired American professional basketball player
  • Waraire Boswell, American fashion designer
  • Ken Boswell, former professional baseball player
  • Ben Boswell, American football offensive lineman

Related Family Names: