Hoyle
A mainly English and Lancashire surname usually meaning someone who lived by a hollow or dip in the land.
The #3,857 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 33,589 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Hoyle is usually taken as a dialectal spelling of Hole, from Middle English words meaning “the hole,” “hollow,” or “cavity.” It likely began as a topographic name for someone who lived in or near a hollow, basin, or sunken piece of ground. Historical spellings show many close forms, including Holl, Hoole, and Hoyle.
History
19th-century surname writers especially connected Hoyle with Lancashire and nearby northern counties, and the name is still strongly associated with northern England. Some bearers may descend from local places called Hoyle or similar, while others probably took the name independently from a landscape feature. The surname later spread more widely through migration to other English-speaking countries, including the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bardsley explicitly notes Hoyle as a familiar Lancashire surname and treats it as a variant of Hole.
From the historical record
“Bole.— Local, 'at the hole,' the cavity, (he hollow, from residence therein or thereby; c£ Hoyle and Holi, both of which arc B;^h.rvlH.I=Hn|e,CO.Orf.,li7,l. A. o. Soma., I Edw. Ill”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances