Noble Family of Bouy

Page updated 24 July 2023 

Origin of the name Bouy

The surname BOUY loosely means "from the forest".

The website http://www.geneanet.org/nom-de-famille/bouy records the following:

Le nom est porté en Dordogne, ainsi que dans le Pas-de-Calais et la Nièvre. Dans le Périgord, il désigne un lieu où pousse le buis. Ailleurs, c'est un nom de localité assez courant (trois communes s'appellent Bouy, deux dans l'Aube et une dans la Marne, ainsi que plusieurs hameaux). Signification : le domaine de Boius, nom d'homme latin. On envisagera éventuellement, dans le Pas-de-Calais, une graphie erronée de Bovy (wallon bovî = bouvier)

Roughly translated, this means:

The name is from the Dordogne and the Pas-de-Calais and Nièvre regions. In the Périgord, it means a place where box trees grow. Moreover, this is a fairly common place name (three municipalities are called Bouy, two in the Aube and the Marne and several hamlets). Meaning: the domain of Boius, the name in latin. We may consider it possible, in the Pas-de-Calais, an erroneous spelling of Bovy (in the wallon language bovi = bouvier).

du Bouys Bourbonnais

The following document dated 1888 was found in the French National Archives at http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5657672j

Following is the translation of the text:

THE BOUYS

BOURBONNAIS

LORDS OF BOUYS, AND OF THE COMMUNES OF ARFEUILLE AND VILLATE

ARMS: Silver background, with three Moor heads, posed two above and one at the bottom, with a border of red.

AMONG the noble families of the ancient Bourbonnais, the BOUYS held a most honorable rank. She owned land in Auvergne, Bourbonnais and Berry, the lordships of Peschin of Bannassat, Chanteloube of Champfromental, Mons, Bougelac of Montfan, Morillon, Edge of Moncel of Artonne of Cloz of Mescliers and Levroux, independently of the landed estates of Bouys, to Arfeuille and Villate in castellanies of Bourbon, Montlucon and Murat (1). The land of Marcillat, formerly Marcillac, was the cradle of the Bouys, whose name was written originally THE BOYS and THE BOYX.

This family obtained a judgment and was granted maintained nobility, the 2 July 1700, to Balthazar OF BOUYS and to Claude OF BOUYS, his son, by the Commissioners and stewards divested by the King, for the verification of titles of noblemen and research of usurpers of nobility in the generality of Moulins and Bourges.

The descent of the family is established by THE BOUYS authentic deeds of a manner continuously and evenly from Robert OF BOUYS (Robertus de Buxu, domicellus of Marcilliaco), squire of Marcillat, diocese of Clermont-Ferrand, who made his will, the 18 March 1386 to Ercheux in Vermandois, diocese of Noyon, in which he ordered that his body be buried in the church of Notre-Dame Marcillat, to which he bequeathed three Émines rye, and founded an anniversary mass in Clermont. He appoints his executors to: André OF BOUYS (Andreas Buxu), his brother, and Jean Beraud, squire.

His descendant in the ninth grade was:

Antoine OF BOUYS, esquire, lord of Bouis, the Villate and Arfeuille, King's Bodyguard for over twenty-five years, which unites, on contract to the castle Ludeix, December 18, 1727, with noble damsel Jeanne DE DURAT, daughter of the late Sir Sebastian Durat, esquire, lord of Ludeix and Deuxaigues and deceased lady Mary Rollat.

From this marriage were the following two children:

1 Antoinette BOUYS, born in the castle of Bouys, December 29, 1728, and baptized the next day at Marcillat;

2 François BOUYS, born in the castle of Bouys and baptized at Marcillat on 10 October 1730, who attended the House of Lords of the Seneschal of Bourbonnais, held at Moulins, May 16, 1789, for the election of deputies States-General. Unknown destiny.

There are currently, in the department of Allier, a family BOUYS OF THE PRAVIER, we do not know if it comes from the same strain, the information we have is lacking.