Kyle
A Scottish and English surname usually taken from a place name, especially the district of Kyle in Ayrshire.
The #1,924 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 16,492 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Kyle is most commonly explained as a locational surname, taken from the district of Kyle in Ayrshire, Scotland. Older works also connect the place-name with Gaelic words for a wood or narrow tract, and one source links it with the river Coyk in the area. In English records, the surname may also have been influenced by similar-looking forms used for other local names or nicknames, so the origin is best treated as mainly place-based.
History
The surname appears in medieval Scottish and English records, and it became established in both countries. Later writers especially associated it with Ayrshire, where the place-name Kyle was well known. The name also spread into Ireland and North America through migration, so today it is found well beyond its original Scottish setting.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The old district of Kyle in Ayrshire was one of the historic divisions of the county, which helped make the place-name into a lasting surname.
From the historical record
“local. KYLE. A topographical term implying a sound or strait. Jamieson. KYME. The founder of this lamily founded also the Priory of Bolinton, co. Lincoln, temp. King Stephen. The Kymes " assumed tlie surname from a fair lord- sliip, the principal place of their residence, in Kesteven, in the county of Lincoln."…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom