In case anyone is wondering why I chose Boleyn Art as my business name, it is a nod to my (as yet unproven) family link to the family of Anne Boleyn. My maiden name is Bullen and my dad always said that we could be related to the Boleyn family.
I never really believed him until a visit with a friend to Hever Castle, Anne Boleyn's family home, where I saw lots of family portraits captioned by both the name Boleyn and Bullen. Spelling wasn't standardised at that time (see article: boleyn-bullen spelling) so both seemed to commonly be used.
I had been considering returning to my maiden name, but decided against it for now - too much admin! However, I felt I wanted to incorporate it into my business name and identity and decided that Boleyn just sounds and looks nicer than Bullen. And so, Boleyn Art and my 'artist' name, Rachel Boleyn, were born.