A Scottish and English surname of Boyd is from the Gaelic language with the word ‘buidhe’ which means yellow or golden. Another Gaelic form was ‘bod and ‘boid’. It originated in the region of Bute, located in the southwestern coastal area of Scotland. The Boyd family name was very common in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Spelling variations for Boyd include Bhoid, McElwee, Boyde, Boid and Boyt.

In England the Boyd surname is in London, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cheshire and Durham counties. In Scotland the Boyd surname remains in the lower southwestern regions, near Bute.

Boyd families in the United States are mostly in Tennessee, Illinois, Ohio, Texas, New York Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Famous: Steven Boyd (actor), Benjamin Boyd (19th century Australian pioneer), Belle Boyd (female spy for the Confederate Army during Civil War), Augusto Samuel Boyd (president of Panama), Cayden Boyd (actor), Esna Boyd (tennis player from Australia), Jim Boyd boxing champion), Louise Arner Boyd (female American explorer of Greenland and the Arctic region), William Boyd (actor) and Robert Boyd (developed Boyd’s Syllabic Shorthand).