Name «Boi»

The masculine name Boi likely originated as a shortening of one of the ancient two-root Slavic names, such as Bojeslav, Bojimir, Dobroboj, Hrdeboj, which are based on the root -boj-, meaning 'fight, battle, war'. The anthroponym Boi was first mentioned in 1447 in the city of Przemyśl, where it is recorded as "Boy actor," meaning 'plaintiff Boi'. In 1453, the name Boj was documented in Transcarpathia in the Berehovo county, and in 1488 in Suceava, there are references to "Gypsies named Boi with their household." By the 17th century, the anthroponym Boi was already being used as an additional name along with personal names, for example, in 1640: Andrey Boy Kotowicz. The name of the Zaporozhian Cossack Vasyl Boi from 1649 is also known.Names derived from the lexeme Boi — Boyko, Boyan — are currently used in Bulgaria, Serbia, and Croatia, where they serve as wishful names meaning "may people fear him!" or "let us be strong in battle!" In Ukraine, the name Boi is not currently in use, but its root is present in numerous Ukrainian surnames, such as Boiško, Boyko, Boichuk, as well as in some toponyms in Lviv region, for example, Boiovychi. Similar phenomena can be observed in Russia and Poland. Thus, in the Russian language, there is the patronymic Boev, and in Old Polish, there is the name Boj.