NameCensus.

UK surname

Boa

A Portuguese surname likely derived from the Latin "boa" meaning "good".

In the 1881 census there were 15 people recorded with the Boa surname, ranking it #31,451 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 248, ranked #16,910, up from #31,451 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Glenshiel, Kilbride and Llywell. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Inverness West Rural, Ross and Cromarty North West and Falkirk - Lochgreen and Lionthorn.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Boa is 251 in 2014. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 1553.3%.

1881 census count

15

Ranked #31,451

Modern count

248

2016, ranked #16,910

Peak year

2014

251 bearers

Map years

5

1891 to 2016

Key insights

  • Boa had 15 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #31,451 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 248 in 2016, ranked #16,910.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 186 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Boa surname distribution map

The map shows where the Boa surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Boa surname density by area, 2016 modern.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Boa over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 46 #24,985
1881 historical 15 #31,451
1891 historical 108 #22,828
1901 historical 186 #15,839
1997 modern 184 #18,580
1998 modern 180 #19,298
1999 modern 181 #19,380
2000 modern 180 #19,425
2001 modern 172 #19,696
2002 modern 174 #19,971
2003 modern 176 #19,623
2004 modern 179 #19,523
2005 modern 183 #19,194
2006 modern 183 #19,326
2007 modern 187 #19,271
2008 modern 196 #18,895
2009 modern 217 #18,070
2010 modern 225 #18,000
2011 modern 231 #17,530
2012 modern 229 #17,537
2013 modern 242 #17,158
2014 modern 251 #16,865
2015 modern 241 #17,235
2016 modern 248 #16,910

Geography

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Where Boas are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Glenshiel, Kilbride, Llywell, Edinburgh and Moffat. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Inverness West Rural, Ross and Cromarty North West, Falkirk - Lochgreen and Lionthorn, Moffat and Inverness Westhill. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Glenshiel Ross And Cromarty
2 Kilbride Bute
3 Llywell Brecon
4 Edinburgh Edinburgh
5 Moffat Dumfries

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Inverness West Rural Highland
2 Ross and Cromarty North West Highland
3 Falkirk - Lochgreen and Lionthorn Falkirk
4 Moffat Dumfries and Galloway
5 Inverness Westhill Highland

Forenames

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First names often paired with Boa

These lists show first names that appear often with the Boa surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Boa

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Boa, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Retired Professionals

Group

Spacious Rural Living

Nationally, the Boa surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Boa household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These predominantly ageing households typically have no resident dependent children. Most are owner-occupiers and live in detached houses in low density residential developments (although renting is more common than in the rest of the Supergroup). White ethnicity predominates. Residents are typically beyond retirement age but those still in work have managerial, professional or skilled trade occupations. White ethnicity and Christian religious affiliation predominate. Neighbourhoods are located throughout rural UK.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Social Rented Sector Families with Children

Group

Social Rented Sector Pockets

Within London, Boa is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Pockets, part of Social Rented Sector Families with Children. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Found in pockets across London, residents are less likely to live in private sector rentals and fewer adults are students. Fewer individuals work in transport and communications occupations relative to the Supergroup average. More individuals identify as Black and were born in Africa.

Wider London pattern

Residents of these neighbourhoods include sizable numbers identifying with ethnicities originating outside Europe, particularly in Africa or Bangladesh. The proportion of residents identifying as White, Indian or Pakistani is well below the London average. Neighbourhood age profiles are skewed towards younger adults, and above average numbers of families have children. Rates of use of English at home are below average. Marriage rates are low, and levels of separation or divorce are above average. Housing is predominantly in flats, and renting in the social rented sector the norm - few residents are owner occupiers. Housing is often overcrowded, and neighbourhoods are amongst the most densely populated in London. Disability rates are above average, although levels of unpaid care provision are about average. Employment is in caring, leisure, other service occupations, sales and customer service, or process, plant, and machine operation. Part time working and full-time student study are common. Levels of unemployment are slightly above average. Most residents have only Level 1 or 2 educational qualifications or have completed apprenticeships.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Boa is most concentrated in decile 5 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname near the middle of the scale.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

5
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Boa falls in decile 6 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

6
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Boa is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 15-20 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

3
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Boa, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Boa

The surname BOA originated in Portugal during the 16th century. It derived from the old Portuguese word "boa" meaning a great serpent or snake. The name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a place inhabited by snakes or bore some resemblance to a snake.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the BOA surname dates back to 1578 in a parish registry from the town of Aveiro, Portugal. A man named Joao da Boa was listed as a witness to a christening ceremony. The surname was also found in other parts of northern Portugal during this era, often spelled as Boa or Boa da Silva.

In the 17th century, the BOA surname appeared in records from the Portuguese colonization of Brazil. Antonio da Boa, born in 1623 in Rio de Janeiro, was a notable explorer and navigator who mapped parts of the Amazon River basin. His descendants continued using the BOA surname for several generations in Brazil.

During the 18th century, the BOA name spread to other parts of Europe. Jacobus Boa, a Dutch merchant born in 1712 in Amsterdam, established trade routes between the Netherlands and Portugal. He adopted the Portuguese spelling of his surname after marrying into a Portuguese family.

One of the most famous people with the BOA surname was Francisco Xavier Boa, a Portuguese Catholic missionary born in 1795. He spent over 30 years spreading Christianity in India and East Africa before his death in 1835. The town of Boa Vista in modern-day Mozambique was named after him.

Other notable individuals with the BOA surname include British naval captain Thomas Boa (1767-1825), who served in the Napoleonic Wars, and Spanish artist Rafael Boa Crespo (1853-1912), renowned for his portrait paintings of the Spanish nobility.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Boa families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Boa surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Ross-shire leads with 17 Boas recorded in 1881 and an index of 49.99x.

County Total Index
Ross-shire 17 49.99x
Buteshire 16 213.05x
Midlothian 16 9.64x
Roxburghshire 13 57.93x
Ayrshire 12 12.95x
Lanarkshire 12 3.00x
Selkirkshire 8 71.36x
Dumfriesshire 5 18.27x
Middlesex 4 0.32x
Nairnshire 4 105.82x
Dunbartonshire 3 9.01x
Durham 3 0.81x
Northumberland 3 1.63x
Wigtownshire 3 18.24x
Kincardineshire 2 13.26x
Banffshire 1 3.89x
Derbyshire 1 0.52x
Dorset 1 1.23x
Gloucestershire 1 0.41x
Inverness-shire 1 2.70x
Renfrewshire 1 1.04x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Edinburgh St Cuthberts in Midlothian leads with 13 Boas recorded in 1881 and an index of 19.47x.

Place Total Index
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 13 19.47x
Biggar 12 1318.68x
Kilmory 11 1009.17x
Gairloch 8 408.16x
Glenshiel 8 4444.44x
Minto 7 3888.89x
Selkirk 7 221.52x
Ardrossan 6 186.92x
Old Cumnock 6 291.26x
Kilbride 5 543.48x
Melrose 5 257.73x
Tynron 5 2777.78x
Nairn 4 174.67x
Bonhill 3 56.18x
Dalton 3 7500.00x
Liberton 3 117.19x
Mile End Old Town London 3 11.38x
Old Luce 3 288.46x
Fettercairn 2 312.50x
Willington 2 93.90x
Ancrum 1 172.41x
Cathcart 1 19.27x
Cullen 1 105.26x
Galashiels 1 24.15x
Halstock 1 526.32x
Kilmorack 1 89.29x
Kintail 1 344.83x
Mickleover 1 166.67x
St George Hanover Square 1 4.58x
Wickwar 1 256.41x
Wolsingham 1 29.76x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Boa surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 3
Caroline 1
Catherine 1
Katie 1
Nancy 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Boa surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Andrew 2
John 2
C. 1
Peter 1

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Boa households.

FAQ

Boa surname: questions and answers

How common was the Boa surname in 1881?

In 1881, 15 people were recorded with the Boa surname. That placed it at #31,451 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Boa surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 248 in 2016. That gives Boa a modern rank of #16,910.

What does the Boa surname mean?

A Portuguese surname likely derived from the Latin "boa" meaning "good".

What does the Boa map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Boa bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.