Soule

Etymology

This surname is most often explained as a habitational name from a place called Soule or Souilly in France, with some older writers specifically pointing to a place and river in Normandy. In that view, the name would have identified someone who came from that locality. The evidence in the older dictionaries is cautious rather than certain, so a French place-name origin is the safest explanation.

History

The name appears in English and American records in several spellings, including Soule and Sowle. Older surname dictionaries treated it as likely French, though they did not always agree on the exact place behind it. The form became established in North America, where it is now much more common than in Britain.

Origin

Regions

Variant spellings

Fun fact

Old surname writers sometimes grouped Soule with other names they thought came from French localities, showing how often medieval surnames were explained through migration.