Kyles
A Scottish surname most likely from Kyle, the old district name in southwest Scotland.
The #6,853 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 62,868 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Kyles is generally treated as a variant of Kyle, a surname taken from the old district of Kyle in Ayrshire, Scotland. The place-name is usually traced to a Brittonic or Gaelic river-and-landscape term, often explained as referring to a narrow or wooded tract of land. In some families, the final -s may simply be a later spelling variant rather than a separate original meaning.
History
The name is associated especially with southwest Scotland and appears in records in forms such as Kyle and Kyles. Later spelling variation was common, and some bearers may descend from the same local surname line written in different ways by clerks or ministers. The excerpted 19th-century source only lists the name alongside Kyle, suggesting the two were already being treated as related forms.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because -s endings were often added or dropped casually in records, Kyles and Kyle can sometimes belong to the same family line in older documents.
From the historical record
“berg, Krueger, Kruger, Krug, Kumb, Kummel, KuMMER, Kuntz, Kdpfer, Kurtz, Kyes, Kylander, Kyle, Kyles. Labbottiere, Laborre, Labree, Lacost, Lacount, Ladlae, Ladreyt, Lafferty, Lafleur, Laforest, Lagan, Laggorio; Laha, Lahey, and Lahy; Lakin, Lally, Lalor, Lamare, Lamas, Lamasney, Lami,”
— Suffolk Surnames (3rd ed.)