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Surname Etymology and Meaning of BOSS

Name meanings and etymologies are often disputed. The information here is compiled from freely available sources, and no claims whatsoever are made for accuracy, either historical or etymological.

1. English: nickname for a hunchback, from Old French bossu ‘hunchbacked’ (a derivative of bosse ‘lump’, ‘hump’; compare Bossard 2).
2. German: from a short form of the personal name Borkhardt, a variant of Burkhart.
3. Possibly an altered spelling of South German Bös (see Bos).
4. Danish: medieval variant of Buus, a surname of uncertain origin, perhaps from German busemen ‘devil’, ‘ghost’.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names (2003)