Skip to main content

Updated June 9, 2019

Family name origins & meanings

  • Italian and Catalan (Bové) : from Italian bove, Catalan bové ‘ox’ (from Latin bos, genitive bovis), applied as a metonymic occupational name for a plowman or herdsman or as a nickname for someone thought to resemble an ox in some way, for example in being fat or patient.
  • Danish : nickname from bouæ ‘villain’, ‘wretch’, or from the old personal name Bovi.

Join the Family

Your partner in parenting from baby name inspiration to college planning.

Subscribe