The name Boimorto comes from stones (see place names), but popular tradition tells a different story.

A very rich man from the lands of Arzúa, owner of a great deal of cattle, passed through these green pastures and decided to leave a thousand head of his herd there. Amazed to see so many animals, people called the place Boi-mil (“a thousand oxen”).

Some time later, on a very hot day, one of the oxen ran off and could not find its way back. The spot where it ended up became Boi-ido (“the ox that went away”).

But it was one of the best oxen, and its owner would not accept losing it. He sent several men to look for it. They found it, but it was so fierce that there was no way to catch it: it turned on them or ran off again and again. In the end they decided to kill it, so that at least the meat and the hide would not go to waste. Ever since, the place has been called Boi-morto (“the dead ox”).

Legend collected in the book «Somos Lenda Viva» (Mini e Mero), based on the «Etimoloxías populares» by Armando Cotarelo, published in the magazine Nós.