Given name & surname
Boyd
“a blonde-haired man”
Boyd is used as a given name and a surname. One Celtic interpretation is “a blonde-haired man.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Celtic interpretation is “a blonde-haired man.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Celtic.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Boyd through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 27,745
- 27,680 boys · 65 girls
- Most popular year
- 1922
- 508 babies
- 2025
- 78
- #1,959 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −22%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 78 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,959 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 22.2% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 508 in 1922. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (8). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 12,377 as a first name in 2020; 147,346 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Boyd’s family of names
Boyd has a related form in Boid. Boyd has a related form in Boidan. Boyd has a related form in Boide.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 15
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Boyd
- Boyd HolbrookAmerican actor and former modelborn 1981
- Boyd AlexanderBritish Army officer, explorer and ornithologist (1873-1910)
- Boyd GainesAmerican actorborn 1953
- Boyd K. PackerApostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1924-2015)
- Boyd RiceAmerican experimental musicianborn 1956
- Boyd RaeburnAmerican musician (1913–1966)
- Boyd GordonCanadian ice hockey playerborn 1983
- Boyd RankinIrish cricketer (born 1984)
- Boyd Devereauxice hockey playerborn 1978
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Boyd, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Lloyd
“grey(-haired)” · “a gray-haired man; one who is sacred”
>99% boys
Floyd
“a gray-haired man”
>99% boys
Coy
“son of Aodh” · “fire”
>99% boys
Orin
“a dark-haired beauty”
99% boys · 1% girls
Oran
“surrounded by light” · “a pale-skinned man”
>99% boys
Foy
“an adventurous man; a journey”
83% boys · 17% girls
Maurice
“a dark-skinned man; Moorish”
>99% boys
Wallace
“foreign, Celtic” · “a Welshman; a man from the south”
98% boys · 2% girls