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Show ContentsEagles History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
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Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

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Eagles is an ancient Norman name, that would have been used in Britain soon after the Conquest of the island in 1066. This name was given to a person who was a person exhibiting characteristics associated with the eagle, such as a lordly or impressive nature, or sharp-eyed vision. The name may also be of toponymic origin and derive from either of two place-names Eagle, in Lincolnshire, 1 or L'Aigle, in Normandy. 2

Another source claims the name is "metaphorically applied to a person of ambitious or soaring disposition." 3

Early Origins of the Eagles family

The surname Eagles was first found in Lincolnshire where the name dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 as Aclei or Aycle. 4 Literally the place name means "wood where oak trees grow." 5

However, we must look to Yorkshire to find one of the first record in early rolls, that of Gilbertus de Aquila who was listed there in the Pipe Rolls of 1196. Richer del Egle was found in the Curia Regis Rolls for Northumberland in 1210 and a few years later, Ralph Egle was listed in the Pipe Rolls for Yorkshire in 1230. 6

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 record: William Egle, Cambridgeshire; Custance Egke, Cambridgeshire; and Gilbert de la Hegle, Sussex. 7

In Scotland, the family claim descent from the "Norman family of L'Aigle. Matilda de Aquila, 1129, [was] widow of Robert Mowbray, Earl of Northumberland." 8

Early History of the Eagles family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Eagles research. Another 102 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1129 and 1230 are included under the topic Early Eagles History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Eagles Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Eagle, Eagles, Hegel, Hegell, Aigle, Eagel, Ligle and others.

Early Notables of the Eagles family

More information is included under the topic Early Eagles Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

United States Eagles migration to the United States +

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Eagles name or one of its variants:

Eagles Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Edward Eagles, who settled in New England in 1771
Eagles Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • J W Eagles, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 9

Canada Eagles migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Eagles Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Mr. Eagles U.E. born in New York, USA who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1784 served in the Queens Rangers Regiment 10

Australia Eagles migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Eagles Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Contemporary Notables of the name Eagles (post 1700) +

  • Major-General William Willis Eagles (1895-1988), American Commanding General Ryukyus Command (1948-1949) 12
  • W. W. Eagles, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from North Carolina, 1952 13
  • J. C. Eagles, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from North Carolina, 1940 13
  • Faye Eagles, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from North Carolina, 1972 13
  • Thomas Eagles (1746-1812), English classical scholar, baptised in the parish of Temple Holy Cross, Bristol, 28 April 1746, descended on his father's side from a family which had resided in Temple parish for nearly two centuries 14
  • John Eagles (1783-1855), English artist and author, son of Thomas Eagles, born in the parish of St. Augustine, Bristol, in 1783, and baptised 8 Nov. of that year 14
  • Christopher Mark "Chris" Eagles (b. 1985), English footballer
Air New Zealand Flight 901
  • Ms. Gwen Louise Eagles (d. 1979), New Zealander passenger, from, Auckland, New Zealand aboard the Air New Zealand Flight 901 for an Antarctic sightseeing flight when it flew into Mount Erebus; she died in the crash 15
HMS Hood
  • Mr. George R Eagles (b. 1921), English Midshipman serving for the Royal Navy from Bush Hill Park, Enfield, Middlesex, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 16
  1. Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
  2. The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
  3. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  4. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  5. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  6. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  7. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  8. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  9. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  10. Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
  11. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Albion voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1823 with 200 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/albion/1823
  12. Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2012, January 24) William Eagles. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Eagles/William_Willis/USA.html
  13. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 29) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  14. Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 June 2020
  15. Mount Erebus, Memorial, Roll of Remembrance (Retrieved 2018, February 21st). Retrieved from http://www.erebus.co.nz/memorialandawards/rollofremembrance.aspx
  16. H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm
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