Explore the Family Name Foyle

The meaning of Foyle

1. English and Irish (of Norman origin): habitational name from any of the places in Normandy called La Feuillie (from Latin folia + -ata ‘leafy place, wood’), either in Seine-Maritime or Manche. According to MacLysaght, it has been established in Ireland since the 13th century, at first in Dublin, later in Leix. 2. English (of Norman origin): habitational name from Foyle Farm in Oxted, Surrey, recorded as Foyllye, la Foily in 1418. A name of French origin, La Foyl(y)e was partially Anglicized as the Foyl(y)e, shown by early surname forms. One suggestion is that this is derived from Old French fouille ‘excavation’. While this is formally possible, there is no evidence for the term in Middle English or as a placename in northern France. More likely it has the same origin and meaning as 1 above, and was given by an owner of Norman descent, perhaps in imitation of one of the places called La Feuillie in Normandy. 3. English and Welsh: perhaps an Anglicized form of Voyle (see Voyles). It could be an English spelling pronunciation of Welsh Foel or Foyl (pronounced /voil/ in Welsh), or it might be an English substitution of English /f/ for /v/, a hypercorrection of words and names where /f/ is voiced to /v/ in western dialects of English, such as vox for fox. Some characteristic forenames: Irish Colum.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.