Boles
A surname with several possible roots, most often treated as a variant of Bowles or as a name from a place-name or occupation.
The #2,426 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 20,657 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is usually explained in more than one way. Some sources treat Boles as a spelling or sound-alike variant of Bowles, which itself can be linked to an occupational sense connected with making or selling bowls, or to a place-name. Other onomastic writers also allow a local origin from a place-name element, but the evidence is not strong enough to make one derivation certain for every family. In short, Boles is a name with several plausible lines of origin rather than a single secure one.
History
The name appears in English records as a surname form alongside Bowles and related spellings. Nineteenth-century surname dictionaries often cross-reference Boles rather than giving it a firm standalone derivation, which suggests it was understood as a variant form in use across different regions. The modern surname is also found in Ireland and North America, where it may reflect either English transmission or independent anglicized forms.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname dictionaries sometimes filed Boles under Bowles, showing how fluid spelling could be before modern standardization.
From the historical record
“Ls;;d^ir9;pbii«ddphim7,». SayleB, Sftile, Boles. Bayle- — Local, 'at the sayles,' i.e. the hurdles (cf. Paliser. also a great Yorkshire surname), 'Sahs the upright sukes of a hurdle”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances