Bove
A surname found in Norman and French records, likely from a word meaning an ox or bull, or a related place-name linked to cattle or grazing land.
The #8,562 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 80,256 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is generally treated as a Norman/French surname, and the evidence points to a connection with Old French words for an ox or bull, or with a place-name built on that same element. Some 19th-century writers also connected it with related forms such as Bove, Bovee, and Bouvard, but the exact route into surname use is not fully certain. In short, it probably began as a name tied to cattle or to a place associated with them.
History
Medieval records cited by older surname books show forms such as de Bove in Norman and English contexts after the Conquest. The name later appears in English and continental records in several spellings, which suggests both migration and local adaptation. Because the documentary trail is patchy, scholars have often treated it as a Norman import with a somewhat uncertain precise derivation.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Old surname collections note medieval bearers of de Bove in England, showing that the name was in use soon after the Norman period.
From the historical record
“stead. Thomas Bove*don. co. Oxf., \vjx. A. 1581. Richard Bovtngdon, co. Bocks : Reg. Uoiv. Oxf. voL ii. pt it p. 110.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (alternate scan)