The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Boy farm (Old Norse: Bœr), since the first church was built there. The name is identical with the word bœr which means "farm" and it is cognate with the Dutch language word "boer" which means "farmer".
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 7 August 1987. The arms show a silver "half boat" on a black background. (The seaghost draugr is travelling in a half boat.)2
Population
The municipality has sustained a steady decline in population since the 1950s when 6,122 people lived in Bø. The 2001 census showed that the population had declined to 3,156 3, while the fourth quarter population estimate for 2007 showed the population at 2866.4. The bureau of statistics projects a continued population decline.5
The municipality has 73 gårdsnummer in the cadastre. 6 The largest and densest population center is the Vinje, Skagen and Steine area in the southwest of Nærøya 7, which is designated as the population center ("tettsted") "Bø" by the bureau of statistics and has 692 people. The other population center, the administrative center of Straume, has a population of 289.8
Media related to Bø, Nordland at Wikimedia Commons
