Boone
An English and Irish surname often linked to the Norman name Bohun, with a parallel sense of “good-natured” from the word boon.
The #632 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 5,740 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Boone is generally explained as a reduced or altered form of Bohun, the Norman family name borne by the Bohuns; older writers compare the change to Mohun > Moon. Some sources also note an overlap with the Middle English adjective boon, meaning pleasant, kind, or gracious, though that is more a word-association than the main family-name origin. In Irish contexts, Boone may also reflect anglicized forms of Bohan or related spellings that were written in several different ways.
History
English records show Boone and Boon appearing in medieval and early modern documents, with the spelling varying widely before surnames became fixed. The Norman Bohun family left a strong historical imprint, and later bearers of Boone appear in both Britain and North America. In Ireland, similar-looking spellings could arise independently from Gaelic names that were rendered in English in multiple forms.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century surname writers often cited Boone as a textbook example of how a Norman name could be reshaped by English pronunciation over time.
From the historical record
“books." Ferguson. BOONE. Probably a corruption of BoJiun, as Moon is of Mohun. Boon is, however, an adjective referring to natural disposition ; gay, merrj^. It is now only retained in the phrase " boon companion." Fr. hon compagnon. BOORD. See Borde. BOORE. A farmer, a rustic. So the Lat. Rusticus, Germ. Bauer, &c.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Boone
- Pat Boone (b. 1934)
- Daniel Boone (1734–1820)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.