Bost
A surname most likely from a nickname or short form related to Boast, though some French and older Scandinavian connections have also been suggested.
The #5,995 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 53,845 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is probably connected with Middle English boast , a word for boasting or vainglory, and may have begun as a nickname. Some 19th-century writers also treated Bost as a French form, while one older source linked a Lewis/British-Irish instance to an Old Norse personal-name element in a place-name context. Because the historical evidence is mixed and the forms are brief, the safest reading is that Bost is a short nickname-style surname with more than one possible source.
History
The name appears in historical surname lists and in at least one medieval-style record as a byname. It is uncommon in English-speaking countries, but modern bearers are found in Britain, North America, and French-speaking areas. The surname may also be partly independent in different places, arising from similar short forms or from local name traditions.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
An old citation noted a medieval Robert called "dictus Bost," showing the form in use as a byname centuries ago.
From the historical record
“as geirr, though very common in compound proper names, as Siggeir, is rare uncompounded. [Gar- BOST, Lewis ; Geirabolstadir, Iceland ; Geira- ST^D, Landndma-b6c.~\ * They arc all found either in the Landndma-b6c^ Flateyjarboc, or the Sat^as, unless it is stated to the contrary. 294 Manx f^latvi-^amts, Grettir, used…”
— The Surnames & Place-Names of the Isle of Man