O'Boyle
An Irish surname meaning “descendant of Boyle,” most strongly associated with Gaelic Ireland.
The #9,859 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 94,101 Americans shares it.
Etymology
O'Boyle is the Anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic surname Ó Baoighill, usually understood as meaning “descendant of Baoigheall” or “descendant of Boyle.” The first element, Ó, marks descent, while the personal name behind Boyle is generally taken to be an old Gaelic name of uncertain exact sense. In older scholarship the name is often treated as part of the Gaelic clan-name tradition rather than as a literal English word-name.
History
The O'Boyles were a well-known Irish sept, especially associated with County Donegal in northwest Ireland. Like many Gaelic surnames, the name was often Anglicized without the apostrophe, giving the common modern spelling O Boyle or O'Boyle. It is found in Ireland and in Irish diaspora communities abroad, including the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname Boyle is also famous in Irish history and literature, but O'Boyle is the specifically Gaelic clan form with the descent prefix Ó.
From the historical record
“BOIllLL. OBoyle. 82 Bellew. IMcEncainA. 319.”
— Varieties and Synonymes of Surnames and Christian Names in Ireland