What are the origins of the surname Boyce?

Question

I come from the Boyce family, and my best guess is that it came from the Norman/French surname Dubois, which was then anglisized in the Isles after the norman conquest.

I am positive my family came from either England, Scotland, or Ireland.

Does anyone have any extra insight/information into the Boyce surname?

Answer 1

BOYCE Name Meaning and History

1.  Scottish, northern Irish, and English: topographic name for someone who lived by a wood, from Old French bois ‘wood’.

2.  English: patronymic from the Middle English nickname boy ‘lad’, ‘servant’, or possibly from an Old English personal name Boia, of uncertain origin. Examples such as Aluuinus Boi (Domesday Book) and Ivo le Boye (Lincolnshire 1232) support the view that it was a byname or even an occupational name; examples such as Stephanus filius Boie (Northumbria 1202) suggest that it was in use as a personal name in the Middle English period.

3.  Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Buadhaigh (see Bogue).

4.  Anglicized spelling of French Bois, cognate with 1.

Source: http://www.ancestry.com

Surname: BOYCE

Recorded as Boys, Boyse, Boice, Boyce, Boyson and others, this interesting "British Isles" surname has a number of possible origins. Firstly, it may be a topographical name for someone who lived by a wood, and hence deriving from the Old French word "bois", probably introduced by the Normans after the Conquest of England in 1066, secondly it may be a patronymic from the Middle English occupational word "boy" meaning a lad or young servant, thirdly it may derive from an Old English and Welsh pre 7th century personal name Boia. If Irish is derives from the ancient Gaelic name O' Buadhaigh, the prefix O' meaning "grandson or descendant of", plus Buadhach, a personal name meaning "victorious". The surname dates back to the early 13th century (see below), and examples of these recordings include Thomas Boys in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1296, and Robert du Boys in the Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk in 1327. Other early examples of recordings include those of Judith, the daughter of Peter Boyes, who was christened at St. Ann's Blackfriars, in the city of London on April 14th 1573, whilst John Frederick Boyes (1811 - 1879) was a classical scholar who published many works relating to classical and English poetry. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Nicholas del Bois. This was dated 1201, in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire, during the reign of King John of England, 1199 - 1216. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Source: http://www.surnamedb.com/surname.aspx?na...

Answer 2

the number one thing to convey to you is that it is misleading/ inaccurate to assume there is ONE Boyce "family" and one single place of origin. I tend to advise against any of the generic databases.. since they can't be specific on your lineage, and don't try to.

Origin of a name and origin of an ANCESTOR are two distinct issues. The ONLY way to have anything reliable is to trace back from yourself, and find the immigrant ancestor. There were Boyces in the US prior to 1790 (first census). Nothing guarantees your line to come from any of those.. you could just as easily come from someone named Boyce who immigrated in 1883.

It is a basic rule in genealogy.. DON'T try to "jump" from the present to the oldest one you can find, then try to connect the dots. Work from yourself back, without skipping, and document as you go.

Answer 3

Scottish, northern Irish, and English: topographic name for someone who lived by a wood, from Old French bois ‘wood’.

Answer 4

I found this for you,

Surname: Boyce

Recorded as Boys, Boyse, Boice, Boyce, Boyson and others, this interesting "British Isles" surname has a number of possible origins. Firstly, it may be a topographical name for someone who lived by a wood, and hence deriving from the Old French word "bois", probably introduced by the Normans after the Conquest of England in 1066, secondly it may be a patronymic from the Middle English occupational word "boy" meaning a lad or young servant, thirdly it may derive from an Old English and Welsh pre 7th century personal name Boia. If Irish is derives from the ancient Gaelic name O' Buadhaigh, the prefix O' meaning "grandson or descendant of", plus Buadhach, a personal name meaning "victorious". The surname dates back to the early 13th century (see below), and examples of these recordings include Thomas Boys in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1296, and Robert du Boys in the Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk in 1327. Other early examples of recordings include those of Judith, the daughter of Peter Boyes, who was christened at St. Ann's Blackfriars, in the city of London on April 14th 1573, whilst John Frederick Boyes (1811 - 1879) was a classical scholar who published many works relating to classical and English poetry. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Nicholas del Bois. This was dated 1201, in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire, during the reign of King John of England, 1199 - 1216. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

http://www.surnamedb.com/

hope this helps.