Boyd is an ancient Scottish surname. The name is attached to Simon, one of several brothers and children of Alan, son of Flathald. Simon's son Robert was called Boyt or Boyd from the Celtic term boidhe, meaning fair or yellow. Robert the Bruce granted lands to Sir Robert Boyd as the ancestor of the earls of Kilmarnock. The Scottish peerage of the earls of Kilmarnock ends shortly after William Boyd rebelled in the Battle of Culloden in 1746. William was arrested and executed at the Tower of London in 1746. He left a widow and three sons including James, Lord Boyd who married and succeeded his father as the Earl of Errol, taking his mother's title. Another theory is of territorial origins which may have been taken from the Bhoid, the Gaelic term for the island of Bute, in the Firth of Clyde. The surname was common in Edinburgh in the 17th century. The Scottish Gaelic form of the surname is Boid (masculine), and Bhoid (feminine). A Adam Boyd (born 1982), English footballer Adele Boyd (1932–2018), American field hockey player Alice Boyd, Scottish artist Alan Lennox-Boyd, 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton, British politician Alan Stephenson Boyd, American politician Alex Boyd (photographer), Scottish photographer Alexander Boyd, 3rd Lord Boyd (died after 1508), Scottish noble Alfred Boyd, Canadian politician Allen Boyd, American politician Andrew Kennedy Hutchison Boyd (1825–1899), Scottish writer Anne Boyd, Australian composer Archibald Boyd, English cleric Archibald Boyd-Carpenter, British politician Archie Boyd (footballer), Scottish footballer Arnold Boyd, British ornithologist Arthur Boyd (Arthur Merric Bloomfield Boyd), Australian painter Arthur Merric Boyd, Australian painter Augusto Samuel Boyd, President of Panama B Belle Boyd, Confederate spy Benjamin Boyd, Australian pioneer Bill Boyd (disambiguation) Billy Boyd (actor), Scottish actor Blanche McCrary Boyd, American novelist Bob Boyd (disambiguation), several people Brandon Boyd, American musician, singer with Incubus Brittany Boyd, American basketball player Brian Boyd, New Zealand English professor Brett Boyd, Australian rugby player C Carla Boyd, Australian basketball player Cayden Boyd, American actor Cecil Boyd, Irish international rugby player Chris Boyd (rugby union) (born 1958), New Zealand rugby coach Christopher Boyd (IT security), computer security expert Christopher Boyd (politician) (1916–2004), British politician Colin Boyd, Baron Boyd of Duncansby, Scottish lawyer Curtis Boyd, American jazz drummer D Danah Boyd, American blogger Daniel Patrick Boyd, American arrested in connection with alleged terrorism Darius Boyd, Australian rugby league player Darren Boyd, British actor David Boyd (disambiguation) Delisha Boyd,