Haile
Usually a variant of Hale, a surname that could point to a dwelling by a nook, hall, or hillside, depending on local origin.
The #5,236 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 46,337 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Haile is generally treated as a spelling or dialectal variant of Hale. In English usage, Hale can come from Old English or related northern forms meaning a nook, corner, or sheltered place, and in some places it was also used for someone living by a hall. The Cornish material in the older sources also connects Haile with local place-names and with Cornish words for a moor, hill, or prominent place, so the exact source can vary by family line.
History
The name appears in medieval records in forms such as Haile, Hail, and Hales, often as a local surname. In some families it spread from English place-names; in Cornish contexts it may instead reflect native place-name elements. Modern American bearers often descend from one of these older British surname streams rather than from a single shared ancestor.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname dictionaries sometimes grouped Haile with Hail and Hale under the same broad family of local names, which is why the spelling history can look surprisingly mixed.
From the historical record
“Court Din, i, 64, 10 ; New York, 7, 9, 9. Hail« Haile.— Local ; v. Hale. Hailes. — Local; v. Hales. Hailstone.— Local, <of Hail- stone/ perhaps for Hallystone, a”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (alternate scan)