Boland
A surname with more than one likely root: in Ireland it is often tied to Gaelic personal-name forms, while in English records it can also be a local name linked to a place like Bolland/Bowland.
The #3,092 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 26,545 Americans shares it.
Etymology
In Irish contexts, Boland is generally treated as an Anglicized form of Gaelic personal-name material, often connected with forms such as O'Bolan / Bolan in older sources. The exact Gaelic root is not perfectly settled in the excerpts, but the name is usually explained as belonging to an Irish surname line rather than an occupation or nickname. In English records, the name can also be a locative surname, related to place-names such as Bolland or Bowland, with the sense of someone from that locality.
History
The name is well established in Ireland, where it appears in surname lists and compilations of Gaelic names. English surname collections also record Boland as a local or variant form, especially in the north of England, and some 19th-century authors explicitly cross-reference it to Bolland. Because the same spelling can arise in different places, modern bearers may have either Irish or English surname history.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A 1901 Irish surname compilation lists Boland alongside related forms such as Bolan, showing how closely spelling variants were tracked in historical name studies.
From the historical record
“roebuck ; or bo-coid-ick, the house in the woody place. BOLAND. See Bolland. BOLASE. From bo-glase^ the green dwelling ; or a corruption of Borlase, q. v. BOLEIT, BOLLEIT. From bo4ait, the milk cot or dairy. But see Bolitho. BOLIGH. A family that possessed property in Lan- salloes. The name is from bo-helUk, the…”
— Patronymica Cornu-Britannica; or, the etymology of Cornish surnames