The Bousfields of Nottinghamshire, England

This Website celebrates the Bousfields of Nottinghamshire

The Coat of Arms

The **Bousfield** coat of arms has three interlaced chevrons and a lion’s head.
The crest is an eagle head out of a ducal coronet

The Origins and Meanings of the Bousfield Family Name

ME = Middle English: ON = Old Norse: OE = Old English

Bousfield: English habitation name from the hamlet near Orton, Westmorland (now Cumbria).

1^st element either ME personal name or (less likely) from ON bogi/OE boga via ME boghes, bowes = a bow (cf. Bow Fell and Baugh Fell, both bow-shaped fells in Cumbria without a middle ‘s’).

2^nd element fell either from ON fell ‘hill/mountain’ or OE feld ‘open country, area of land without trees’.

First mentions: place name Bowesfell in1279; surname James Boesefell 1567, James Busfeld, Christopher Bowsfeild 1615, all in York.

Note. The preponderance of northern England as the place of residence of Bousfields appearing in 19^th century censuses supports Westmorland as the origin of the name. No evidence supports the conjecture that the name is derived from the de Bouvilles, mentioned in the Domesday survey, or that the first element is bos, the Latin for ox.

More to come

Watch this site for additional details. More to come.