Lyle
Usually a shortened or altered form of the French place-name de l’Isle, meaning “of the island.”
The #2,731 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 23,404 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally explained as a reduced form of French de l’Isle, literally “of the island,” from Latin insula. In medieval records it appears in forms such as de Insula and later as Lisle, L’Isle, Lyle, and related spellings. The name would originally have identified someone from an island or from a place called Isle/Lisle.
History
The name was brought into Britain by Norman French influence and was used by families connected with places named Isle or Lisle. Later spellings varied widely, and sources note Lyle alongside Lisle and Lyell as related forms. In Ireland, the surname is recorded among families in Galway and Mayo, where it appears in historical surname lists.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One 19th-century source notes that several different coats of arms had been attributed to the name, showing how widely the spelling varied over time.
From the historical record
“and Lyhart. LYLE. The same as Lisle. LYI\IEER. See Limber. LYiNIBERNER. A limeburuer. Nonse. 1341. LYNCH. See LInch. Several gentry families of this name reside in cos. Galway and Mayo. They are descended from the settlers known as the tribes of Galway. In a document in Ulster's office, William le Petit”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom