[2] The county was formed in 1891[3] and named after James E. Boyd, the governor of Nebraska at the time.

[4] In the Nebraska license plate system, Boyd County is represented by the prefix 63, as it had the 63rd-largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922.

[5] All land north of the Keya Paha River (which includes most of Boyd County and a smaller portion of neighboring Keya Paha County) was not originally part of Nebraska at the time of statehood, but was transferred from Dakota Territory in 1882.

[7] As of the 2000 United States Census, there were 2,438 people, 1,014 households, and 670 families in the county.

The racial makeup of the county was 98.89% White, 0.57% Native American, 0.16% Asian, and 0.37% from two or more races.